I Could Never Pretend
by Aliiiceh
Summary: Third instalment of the 'Just Go With It' and 'Nothing Is Ever Simple' saga. Viva La Bam and Jackass, featuring Bam Margera and Johnny Knoxville.
1. Bam Has a Plan

Days had turned to weeks, weeks had turned to months and before anyone knew it, summer was already drawing to an end. For the residents of West Chester, Pennsylvania, the late August day was turning out to be an extremely pleasant one. A cool breeze rustled through the trees and took the edge off the intense heat of the sun at its highest point in the sky. In a bid to make the most of the last of the good weather, the inhabitants of the notorious 'Castle Bam' were scattered across the expansive grounds that formed the back garden, partaking in various activities.

Bam Margera was slouched across a deck chair in front of the large swimming pool, cigarette in one hand and beer can in the other, the picture of contentment. It would have been easy to assume he was asleep behind his large, dark sunglasses if it were not for the moments when he periodically came to life to indulge in either the nicotine or alcohol at his disposal. His mother April sat on another deck chair a few metres away, glancing over worriedly at her son whenever he took a gulp of beer and continued to ignore the reassuring comments from her husband Phil as he rubbed sun cream into her back. April stared disapprovingly at the can of beer resting in Bam's hand. She could not recall the last time she had seen him without a beer or glass of wine close at hand and she was starting to get concerned that he had a problem. Since April and Phil's daughter in law had left for LA with their grandson, they had both noticed a change in Bam. He was rarely sober and when he was not drinking he was sleeping off a hangover and bringing women back with him every night. What mother would not be worried?

Strictly speaking however, this was not quite true and no matter how much she wished she could deny it, April had to face the facts. Bam's late nights, multiple women and alcohol abuse were not a result of his wife leaving him, but rather a cause of it and as sad as she was that her grandson was now living on the other side of the country, April could not blame Amelia for moving as far away as possible. Not only had Bam treated Amelia appallingly since they had been married, but he had also cheated on her and in April's mind that was unforgiveable. What was even more unforgiveable to April was the fact that Bam seemed to have forgotten that he even had a wife and child. At first April had assumed that he was simply in denial, but as the months passed by without any action, she was confronted by the possibility that her own son no longer cared that he was a father. She had made her feelings on this very clear to anyone who would listen, but all she had achieved was alienating her son. Bam now refused to have a conversation with his mother, knowing it would only lead to her having a go at him. This did not deter April and she continued to visit as often as possible, knowing that her presence alone would remind Bam of her opinion. During these times they were civil to one another but that was now the extent of their relationship.

Little did April know, Bam had a plan. His mother was right to assume that for the first few months Bam had been in some sort of state of denial, accompanied by the fact that he was enjoying his new found single life and as far as he was concerned he had all the time in the world to sort his domestic situation out. After all, money and time were not an issue for him. For seven months he had no contact with his wife whatsoever and if it wasn't for April's constant interfering he wouldn't even know that she was now living and working in LA and that Brandon was perfectly fine. Now, seven months after Amelia had left him, Bam was ready to do something about it. This motivation had evolved as Bam had grown tired of seeing pictures in magazines and celebrity news shows of his wife and child with another man. A man no less, than his former close friend. Although Bam had not confronted him about it, or spoken to him at all in fact, Bam no longer considered Johnny Knoxville to be a friend and he hope he would never see him again.

Their relationship might not be 'official' but the guy had some nerve, Bam thought angrily. As if it hadn't been enough that throughout the course of Bam's relationship with Amelia, it was glaringly obvious that Knoxville was in love with her, the moment Bam let his guard down Knoxville had pounced and taken what did not belong to him. Bam's friends had tried to talk Bam around, pointing out that this animosity towards Knoxville was not healthy and that it would jeopardise any Jackass projects in the future, Bam did not particularly care. The way he saw it, Amelia and Knoxville had done a perfectly good job of jeopardising the future of Jackass all by themselves. There was no way he would ever be willing to work with the two of them again, and what made it worse was the fact that Tremaine and the others were clearly in support of them. The term 'betrayal' didn't even come close and as the press coverage of Amelia and Knoxville increased, Bam had spoken to his lawyers and was ready to claim what was rightfully his. His son.

Bam's best friend Ryan Dunn and his girlfriend Rose Jones were cooling off in the pool, watching the silent and one sided exchange between mother and son. Despite his allegiance to Bam, Ryan agreed vehemently with April and found it troubling that Bam had made no effort to see his son for over half a year. Ryan recalled Bam vowing that he would fight for Brandon when Amelia left but so far he had not lived up to this promise and Ryan was finding it increasingly difficult to stay loyal to his friend when Bam was acting like such an idiot by drinking too much and sleeping with so many women. Ryan looked over at Rose, who was lying on her back on an inflatable Lilo. Rose had graduated at the start of the summer and had decided to spend the following months in West Chester with Ryan. She and Ryan were still going strong, however, as Amelia's sister, Rose was firmly anti-Bam and this was starting to put a strain on their relationship. Now that she had finished university, Rose was starting to look for a job and Ryan knew that the next few weeks could determine their future together as she would have to make up her mind on where she wanted to live. She had already made it very clear that she would not be following in her older sister's footsteps.

Bam was not the only one with a secret. Rose had already received two job offers, one in England and one in LA. She had not yet told Ryan as she still hadn't made up her mind and she didn't want to upset him unnecessarily. She had known from the start that Ryan would never leave West Chester and she wasn't sure if she wanted to make this her permanent home. She loved Ryan to bits but Rose was too young to settle down yet and the temptation to live closer to her sister and nephew was becoming harder to resist every day.

All of a sudden the sound of a ringtone filled the garden and Bam sat up, pulling his phone from his shorts' pocket. Glancing around at his guests, Bam thought better of taking the call in front of them and made his way inside for some privacy.


	2. Back to Reality

A pair of bright orange curtains billowed gently in the wind, allowing sunlight to stream through the bedroom window. Amelia Margera's eyes flickered open. It took her a few moments to adjust to the orange tinted surroundings and to remember where she was. Orange and pink walls were plastered with old film posters and oak furniture with varying degrees of teenage graffiti filled the space. She was home, or at least in the childhood sense of the word. It had been three months since she had jumped on a plane and travelled back to the UK, yet she could still not get used to waking up in her teenage bedroom every morning. As many fond memories as she had of the house, America was now her real home and it was finally time to return there.

Amelia rolled over and found herself face to face with a well toned male chest. She smiled in spite of herself as she traced her hand lightly over the contours of the sleeping figure's muscular body. The past three months had been the happiest Amelia had felt in a long time, but now with her job in California waiting for her and the prospect of divorce looming, it was time for Amelia to face the music. As she contemplated what retuning to LA would mean, the person beside her started to wake up. She nuzzled into his chest, wishing they could simply lie in bed forever but of course this was impossible. For a start, she had her son to think of. She needed to get him up and dressed before the flight back to LA that afternoon.

"Just five more minutes." A voice mumbled into Amelia's ear as she began to get up. How could she resist?

"As long as it's only five Johnny." She laughed, returning to her comfy position in his strong pair of arms.

"I'm sure I could persuade you otherwise." He whispered seductively into her ear, before leaning over and kissing her forcefully on the lips.

"Maybe if it wasn't for your morning breath." Amelia remarked, nuzzling her nose against his. Johnny feigned insult and began to tickle her relentlessly. All at once, any negative thoughts that had been floating around Amelia's head instantly disappeared. This was the magical effect that being around Johnny had on her and for this reason the past three months had been blissful. Even her mother's constant nagging about divorce could not get Amelia down because finally she and Johnny were together. However, they were both aware that it was going to be a different story once they returned to LA. The pictures from Johnny's premiere had reached the English tabloids and Amelia could only imagine how much their faces were splashed across the magazines back home. Both she and Johnny had decided to keep their relationship as low key as possible until Amelia had sorted out her divorce.

"Do we really have to go back today?" Johnny sighed once he had given up and they were both sitting up in bed, panting.

"You mean you're not missing Jeff?" Amelia teased, wrapping herself in her dressing gown.

"Who?" Johnny grinned. As if by more than a coincidence, Johnny's phone started ringing. It was Jeff. Amelia laughed and made her way to the bathroom while Johnny spoke to their boss.

The sixteen hour plane journey back to LA was uneventful but Amelia couldn't relax. There was bound to be a pack of reporters lurking at LAX, there always was. She didn't want her return marked by the fact that her face was all over the celebrity gossip world again. As soon as the plane landed she pulled out a big pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap from her bag, earning a loud cackle from Johnny.

"What?" she looked at him pointedly as he picked Brandon up.

"Ashamed to be seen with me?" he teased, flicking her hat and making Brandon laugh.

"You know I'm not." She elbowed him. "You should be ashamed to be seen with me. I'm still a married woman."

"Hey." He laughed, as they gathered up the rest of the hand luggage and waited for the doors to open. "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors. We're just friends remember."

Amelia nodded and managed a small smile. It might not fool everyone but it made her feel better to keep things quiet for now. The sunlight blinded Amelia as she started to climb down the steps from the plane. It was incredibly warm. Too warm for the old university hoody she had been wearing when they took off from England but she knew better than to complain. It felt so good to be back in LA and she felt a wave of excitement wash over her as she looked forward to returning to work.

Johnny walked slowly by Amelia's side, watching her concernedly. He could sense her anxiety about the press. As much as he wanted to declare his love for Amelia to the world, he knew it was better to wait until she had received the divorce papers. He knew she was close to the edge as it was and he didn't want to jeopardise their relationship by pushing her too far. For this reason he had held off from asking her to move in with him. There was no sense in rushing things.

After they had made their way through security and seemingly avoided any photographers, Amelia, Brandon and Johnny climbed into a taxi. "What happens now?" Amelia asked as the driver loaded their belongings into the trunk.

"Well I promised Jeff I'd pop into the office. I did kind of take off for three months without letting him know so there'll probably be hell to pay."

Amelia grinned imagining what revenge Jeff would have in store for Johnny. "Well good luck with that, but you're on your own. I'm going to unpack and then enjoy the sunshine." One aspect of England that she had not missed was the distinct lack of summer. Here in LA it was a warmer than average September afternoon and she was keen to make the most of it before being back in the office tomorrow.

"Suit yourself. Jeff will be disappointed."

"No he won't. You just want me to share the blame for your absence." Amelia grinned knowingly.

Johnny pretended to sulk as the taxi sped off towards Amelia's apartment. He couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought about being separated from Amelia. England had been like a dream come true, but now it was back to work and back to reality.


	3. Jeff's Revenge

Johnny entered the Dickhouse office cautiously. Despite his three month absence he had not lost his guard when it came to his friends. He was mentally kicking himself for letting Jeff know that he was back. He should have kept it as a surprise. There would definitely have been potential for a wind up. As it was, Johnny was now looking over his shoulder every few seconds, just waiting for something to happen. He prided himself on his brilliant foresight and his sixth sense for knowing when something was being plotted against him. This was one of the reasons it was so hard to a pull a prank on him during filming. Not only had he already thought of every trick in the book, but he was constantly on guard. It was exhausting but it was worth it just to annoy the others.

Johnny made it into the office he shared with Jeff unscathed, but the fact that no one was around left him with an uneasy feeling. Silence was never a good sign when it came to Dickhouse and he scanned the room for any clues as to what was going on. He Jeff well enough to guess that he would have slipped up somehow and sure enough it only took Johnny a few seconds to notice the empty packet of paintball cartridges in the waste bin. Well, if Jeff wanted war that was exactly what he was going to get.

Johnny dropped instantly to the ground and made his way, combat style, over to the office store room which doubled as his own private weaponry. He dove in and shut the door before anyone could attack, and once he had flicked the light switch on he breathed a sigh of relief. His extensive collection of cattle prods, stun guns and paintball guns remained unnoticed and untouched. Yes, outnumbered as he was, Johnny would be having the last laugh. In an expert manner he loaded a paintball gun and pulled on an old padded combat jumpsuit that would help to protect his body from the impending paint splattering. He could not contain his laughter as he attached a helmet and a pair of goggles to his head. They would not be expecting this. He added the finishing touches to his appearances by smudging camouflage style markings across his face with a stray felt tip pen.

Once he was all kitted out with a stun gun in his back pocket, Johnny switched the light off and lay down on the floor, pushing the door open ever so slowly. Adrenaline pumped through his body. He had been on his best behaviour whilst staying with Amelia's parents but he could not contain his wild streak any longer. He manoeuvred himself, guerrilla style, across the office floor and positioned himself behind Jeff's desk for safety. He peered through the crack between the desk and the floor, looking for any sign of movement. Now it was a waiting game, and Johnny had all day.

After five minutes had passed, Johnny spotted two pairs of feet in the hallway. One he instantly recognised as belonging to Jeff from the battered skate shoes he was wearing. The other, wearing a pair of Bam Margera customised Adio trainers could only be Rick. He couldn't have asked for two better targets and his eyes started to water as he giggled silently. Holding his breath, Johnny waited in anticipation for Jeff and Rick to get close enough for him not to miss his shot. He counted to five under his breath before leaping up from behind the desk with a war cry and pelting his friends with paintballs. He had to admire their creativity as they had tied bandanas around their heads in a savage manner and they had also incorporated tribal face paint into the look.

Jeff and Rick were certainly taken by surprise at Johnny's counter attack and he used this to his advantage by legging it past them and into the staffroom where sure enough, Dimitry, Guch, Cliver and Wolfie were poised, bandana clad and ready to fight. Johnny ducked behind a sofa and continued his assault on his unsuspecting friends. At the back of his mind he hoped someone was filming this, it was pure gold. At least fifteen minutes had passed before the war ended. His friends had run out of ammunition and Jeff finally waved a piece of white A4 paper in surrender. A truce was called as Johnny greeted and embraced the losers.

Johnny looked around the room and laughed at the damage they had caused. All of the sofas had been upturned to provide shelter and along with the remaining furniture and walls were covered in paint stains.

"How did you know?" Cliver asked, approaching Johnny with a video camera.

"I always know." Johnny winked, before following Jeff back into the remains of their office.

"So, how have you been?" Jeff asked, propping his feet up on the desk and ignoring the paintball splatters that were now adorning his entire office.

"All the better for seeing your paint covered face." Johnny remarked. "You should have known you didn't stand a chance against me. It's only been three months and an elephant never forgets."

"One could only hope. And we were bored." Jeff shrugged, wiping some paint of his cheeks. His leopard print bandana was still in place around his head and Johnny couldn't help but draw comparisons to Steve-O's infamous thong. "We actually put a lot of planning into it. It killed a day, and our office it would seem."

"Well next time try being more original and don't leave evidence in the waste paper bin." Johnny suggested, gesturing at the empty cartridge packet.

"That was Rick." Jeff groaned. "The useless idiot."

"Hey, I heard that!" Rick yelled as he walked past the door.

"You did deserve it though PJ. How could you just up and leave me for three months? And England of all places!" Jeff demanded.

"Hey you know I'll make it up to you sweet cheeks." Johnny teased, which seemed to placate Jeff. "So what did I miss?" Johnny laughed, removing his helmet and unzipping his jumpsuit.

"Not a lot. But there is something I need to talk to you about in private." Jeff lowered his voice slightly and Johnny leaned over to pull the door shut.

"I'm intrigued. Spit it out already."

"Spike rang yesterday. He was in the Paramount offices and ran into some high ranking executive who was inquiring after the next Jackass film."

Johnny's eyes widened. "And?"

"They really want to do it and even suggested making it in 3D. There's going to be a meeting early next year."

"Does anyone else know about it?" Johnny wondered, considering Jeff's desire for privacy.

"Only Spike." Jeff told him. "I really want to do it but it will only work if everyone is on board and to be perfectly honest I don't think it's the right time to bring it up, what with Steve still recovering and Bam..." he trailed off.

Johnny nodded. He understood what Jeff was saying and he agreed. As much as he would love to do another movie it was most certainly not the ideal time. It was going to take a miracle for Bam and Amelia to be able to work with each other again, and much more than a miracle for Bam and Johnny.


	4. Amelia's Surprise

Amelia's first day back at work could not come soon enough. She was keen to see all of the guys again and work on the projects that Jeff had in the pipeline. Johnny had informed Amelia of Jeff's attempted revenge much to her amusement, but she was equally as happy that she had missed out on a good paintballing. She had always hated that particular game.

After spending the past three months lounging around her parents house in leggings and jumpers it was a relief for Amelia to have a reason to slip into a pair of cut off jeans and a tank top. Being with Johnny had stopped her from being so critical over her appearance and she felt more confident than ever. It had been weird spending the night without Johnny but as much as she wanted to be with him constantly, she had learnt from experience that they needed to take things so and she was determined to put Brandon and her job at least joint first with her relationship. She applied some mascara and eyeliner before tying her hair up. It was in desperate need of cutting now that she didn't have April around.

Brandon's babysitter had arrived so she slipped on her converse and as she walked out of the door she was greeted by a clear blue sky. It was a beautiful morning so Amelia decided to walk the distance from her apartment to the office. She really needed to return the rental car and buy her own now that she was settled. She couldn't help but miss her car in Westchester, but Bam had bought it for her as a Christmas present so she would probably never see it again she thought sadly. She arrived at the office early and grabbed a couple of coffees before poking her head around Jeff and Johnny's door. She saw Jeff's mop of hair sticking up from behind his computer screen so she threw a ball of paper towards him to get his attention.

"Amelia!" he grinned, popping his head up.

"Jeff!" She exclaimed, putting the coffee down running into his arms. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too." He laughed as she nearly knocked his chair over. He was glad to see her so much happier and healthier than before. "Take a seat."

Amelia sat herself down in Johnny's chair and slid the cup of coffee over to him. "It's good to be back." She smiled to herself and laughed at the paint covered walls.

"It's good to have you back!" Jeff grinned, "Especially if this is how you're going to greet me every morning." He pointed to the coffee.

"I don't know about that." She stuck her tongue out. "If I'm honest it was just my way of calling a truce with you before you try and attack me with paintballs."

"Ahh, you spoke to PJ then." Jeff laughed as he remembered the antics of the day before.

"Yeah. He told me all about it. He was even cockier than usual." She remarked. "You don't have much luck do you Jeff?"

"We'll get him one day, mark my words. Where is Knoxville?" Jeff asked, winking slightly.

"On his way." Amelia replied, trying to suppress a huge smile. They had only been a apart for twelve hours but she was excited to see him again. She felt like a lovesick teenager all over again. "So did I miss anything?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." Jeff replied, wrestling with his conscience over whether or not he should tell her about Spike's news. In the end he thought better of it. She was one of the group who would be most affected and she had enough on her plate at the moment. If Johnny wanted to tell her then that was up to him. "You've got some mail though." Jeff remembered, sifting through the ridiculous amount of paperwork that was scattered across his desk.

"You should pay someone to clean that up for you." Amelia laughed, as she watched Jeff look for her letter.

"Are you offering?"

"Not unless I get overtime." She grinned.

Jeff finally found the big brown envelope that had been addressed to Amelia, care of Dickhouse Productions and passed it across to her. She frowned at the address. "I guess I forgot to tell a lot of people where I moved to." She shrugged. "But I would have thought my mail would still get sent to Westchester.

"It is a bit strange." Jeff admitted. "Go ahead and open it. I'm going for a smoke. There's a production meeting at eleven so until then you may as well just chill out. Oh, and if you see Johnny tell him he's late and I'm docking his pay."

Amelia laughed as Jeff made his way out of the office and then she looked back down at the envelope in her hands, wondering what it could possibly be. In her experience, brown envelopes were never a good thing. Tentatively she ripped it open and pulled out a handful of documents.

_Dear Mrs Margera_

_I am writing to inform you that your husband, Mr Brandon Margera is seeking sole custody of your son Brandon Margera Junior. _

_If you object to this motion, you are advised to seek mediation but should this prove unsuccessful, a hearing to review the case will be held on January 31st in West Chester County Court. _

_Yours Sincerely _

_Elizabeth Crawley_

_(Morton Family Law, West Chester PA)_

Amelia stared at the letter, frozen in shock and unable to process the information she had just received. Bam was filing for custody, for _sole _custody of their son. She couldn't believe what she was reading. She didn't want to believe it. When Johnny arrived in the office some ten minutes later, he found Amelia sitting in his chair, still as a statue with the letter in her hand.

"Meels? Is everything ok?"

She did not respond so Johnny walked over and slipped the letter out of her hands. He frowned as he read it.

"What a fucking idiot." he exclaimed and knelt down in front of Amelia. "You know he doesn't stand a chance right. He's not exactly a good father figure is he? And where has he been for the past seven months."

Amelia nodded slightly, wishing she could believe Johnny. He was right but the fact that Bam was going to such an extreme length worried her. He hadn't even bothered filing for divorce. What was he thinking? He hadn't seen in his son in half a year and now he planned to gain full custody.

"I've got to go to West Chester." Amelia sighed.


	5. West Chester, PA

Amelia had been back in LA for one day and already she found herself booking a flight to West Chester, the one place she never thought she would return to. She was not entirely sure what she expected to come of this trip. It was not like she would be able to change Bam's mind; he was the most stubborn asshole on the planet. She had a few choice words for him that was for sure and a phone call simply would not do. She wanted to look her husband in the eye and ask him how he could be so evil.

"What are you going to do?" Johnny asked tentatively, after following her into the office she shared with Rick and Dimitry.

"I'm going to West Chester." She told him matter of factly, glad that the office was empty for the time being. She didn't want everyone knowing her business.

Johnny held his tongue. He wanted to tell her it was a bad idea and to let the solicitors sort it out but he knew she could not sit back and do nothing. It was not his place to interfere and the last thing he wanted to do was to cause friction between them.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Amelia looked up at him with a worried expression. "Will you? I don't think I can handle this on my own."

Johnny strode over to where she was sitting and pulled her into his arms. "Of course I will. You know I'm here for you not matter what Amelia. You don't need to ask."

"Thank you PJ." She hugged him back, burying her head into his chest and inhaling the scent of his aftershave.

Johnny held her tightly and felt her body shake as she started to cry. He hated seeing her like this and it only made him feel more anger towards Bam for putting her through so much pain. He had just got his happy carefree Amelia back and now Bam had taken her away again.

After a few minutes Amelia pulled away. "I'm sorry Johnny. I'm angrier with myself for letting him get to me again. I promised myself I wouldn't cry over him again but this is just so unexpected." The more she thought about the situation the more frustrated she was. Her mother had been right, she should have filed for divorce straight away and she could have sorted the custody out at the same time but she had been naive and Bam had beaten her to it. "I just want to get on with my life."

"You don't need to explain yourself." Johnny told her gently, stroking her hair softly. "We'll sort this mess out. I promise."

Jeff appeared at the doorway. "Hey PJ, is everything ok?" He was looking at Amelia who was hastily wiping the tears from her eyes.

Johnny glanced down at her before replying. "Hey Jeff. There's nothing to worry about, just a slight hiccough that a trip to West Chester this weekend will fix."

The mention of West Chester did not seem to ease Jeff's concern, but he could see that now was not the time to ask questions. "Ok guys, I'll see you in the staffroom in an hour."

"Jeff must hate me for ditching him again." Amelia groaned as she watched Jeff walk away. She felt guilty about missing work again. If Dickhouse had been a normal company she would have been out of the job before she'd even started.

"Don't be silly Meels." Johnny shook his head and laughed. "Jeff loves you. He was desperate to get you to work here and now he won't let you go for anything."

"I hope you're right."

One week later Amelia and Johnny touched down in West Chester. Amelia had flown more times in the past year than she had in her whole twenty one years prior to moving over to the US. It was just one more aspect of her new found crazy lifestyle. She often wondered how much less eventful or indeed boring her life would have been if she had stayed in England. It was not worth thinking about, she decided.

Amelia had been a nervous wreck on the plane. She had no idea what she was walking into by returning to Castle Bam or what she was going to say to Bam. After being separated for so long she really did not welcome the prospect of seeing his face again. What worried her even more was how she would react to seeing him after all this time. She had put her feelings to him aside after he had broken her heart but she wasn't sure if she would ever stop having feelings for him. Johnny gripped her hand tightly but this was not as comforting as he meant it to be. The fact that he was accompanying her was sure to add fuel to the impending fire. They had decided it was for the best to maintain the impression that they were not dating but Bam was not as stupid as he often acted.

Jeff was very understanding of the situation and he and Johnny had managed to keep it under wraps. The only people who knew about the custody case were Jeff and Laura, who were looking after Brandon for the weekend. She had been incredibly grateful for Laura and Jeff babysitting and she secretly hoped that being around Brandon might trigger some hormones in the pair of them and that they would hear the patter of tiny feet after the wedding. Apparently Jeff had been less than impressed when Johnny mentioned this to him.

Amelia had decided that as much as she would have liked for April and Phil to see their grandson, bringing Brandon was a bad idea. There was most likely going to be a scene between Amelia and Bam and she did not want her son around when it all kicked off. After booking the tickets Amelia had rang April to ask her if she and Johnny could stay with them for the weekend. April had been surprised by the request but she seemed happy at the prospect of seeing them, which could only be a good thing. Amelia had no idea if April knew what Bam had done but she didn't really want to talk about it over the phone.

Johnny pulled up outside April and Phil's house and Amelia took a deep breath. She was glad that Johnny was here beside her as she knew she would not be able to cope on her own. He had been amazing this week and had even arranged a meeting with his own solicitor when they returned to LA. Amelia thought better than to ask how much this particular guy charged.

The sound of tyres on the gravel had drawn April and Phil out of the house and they rushed up to the rental car to greet their guests. After smothering the pair of them in hugs and kisses, April finally led Amelia and Johnny into the house.

"I have a pretty good idea why you're here." She sighed gently once they were all seated in the living room with coffee and biscuits. "I love my son but sometimes I can't help but feel like disowning him."

"Did you know what he was planning?" Amelia asked. She didn't blame April but she wanted to know everything.

"I didn't have a clue until you rang last week." April admitted honestly. "I thought it was strange that you were coming back and as happy as I am to see you, I knew that Bam must have something to do with it. I asked him straight out what he had done to bring you to West Chester and he casually explained what he was doing. I can't believe it. Of all the stupid things that boy has done, this has just gone too far."

"So you don't think he should have full custody?" Amelia inquired, perfectly aware that she was now playing devil's advocate.

"Of course not!" April exclaimed, shocked to have been asked such a question. "I always knew that the custody issue would come up when you guys got divorced. I mean, obviously I don't really want you to get divorced but at the same time I don't blame you after everything Bam's put you through."

Amelia grimaced awkwardly as April glanced over at Johnny before continuing.

"But I always assumed it would be a mutual agreement. Never did I imagine that the courts would be involved."

"You think it will go that far?" Johnny piped up.

April looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Well I guess that's why you came right. To try and sort things out? And I really hope you can, but we all know what Bam's like. Once he gets an idea in his head..." she trailed off.

"I don't really know why I'm here to be honest." Amelia shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to see you again but I know what Bam's like. I think I just need to see it with my own eyes. I am prepared to go to court if it comes to that though."

"We understand sweetie. I wish there was something we could do to help."

Amelia nodded, understanding their predicament. "I want you to know, I'm not going to fight for sole custody of Brandon myself though. Bam's his father after all and I have no intention of stopping him from having access if he sorts his act out, and Brandon needs his grandparents."

April smiled. "That's incredibly kind of you considering what Bam's done. We really appreciate it don't we Phil."

Phil nodded and turned to Johnny. "You want a beer?"

Johnny grinned. "That's music to my ears Phil." And with that the two men stood up and made their way over to the kitchen.

April and Amelia smiled to themselves. "So are you and Johnny..."

"No." Amelia cut her off instantly. She hated lying to April but she had no choice. "Johnny's just here as moral support."

"Oh right." April smiled as she took a sip of coffee, but she didn't look convinced.

"You've been reading those celebrity magazines haven't you." Amelia teased, putting her own cup down on the table.

April bit her lip guiltily. "I can't help it! I'm a middle aged woman who works in a hair salon, what do you expect?"

Amelia laughed. "At least that way you can keep tabs on your son. Oh I'm sorry that was a bit uncalled for wasn't it." She looked at April worriedly, hoping she had not caused her any offence.

April however was laughing. "Don't worry about it honey, it's funny because it's true. I wouldn't know half of the things he's been up to if I hadn't read about them."

"I don't suppose you know when Bam will be around this weekend do you?" Amelia asked, returning to the issue at hand.

April shook her head. "But there's no rush. I'll cook us a nice dinner this evening, you must be starving. If you drive over tomorrow morning you'll probably catch him before he goes out."

"Thanks April." Amelia smiled sinking back into the sofa, but she knew that she would not be able to relax until she had spoken to her husband.


	6. It's a Long Story

The next morning Amelia and Johnny drove the short distance from April and Phil's house to Castle Bam. As the all too familiar building came into sight Amelia felt a wave of nausea take over her. She could still vividly remember the first time she ever made this journey and the first time she met Bam. Trying to shake these thoughts from her mind she concentrated on the road in front of them as Johnny drove up the path towards the large metal gates.

"I guess I should buzz in?" Johnny laughed glancing at Amelia.

"Try the code; it might still be the same." She suggested, recalling the six digit pass code to gain entry to Bam's land. Sure enough he had not changed it and the gates swing open, allowing Johnny to drive the car down the snake run driveway. The place seemed deserted and the distinct lack of people and vehicles led Amelia to wonder if they had gone out filming.

"Do you think anyone's in?" Johnny asked, reading Amelia's mind as he killed the engine outside the front door to the castle.

Amelia shrugged hesitantly. Her nerves seemed to have gotten the better of her and she was struggling to find her voice. Before Johnny could say anything else however, a figure appeared from the back of the house and started making its way towards them. Amelia squinted to see who it was, wishing she had not left her glasses at April's. Johnny was squinting too but he recognised the figure before Amelia. It was Brandon Dicamillo.

Amelia and Johnny climbed out of the car and made their way over to Dico. Once he realised who it was, Dico dropped the box he was carrying and ran over to them. "Oh my God is it good to see you guys!" he exclaimed, hugging them both happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story." Amelia smiled awkwardly. "Where is everyone?" As far as she knew her sister was still supposed to be in West Chester.

"That is also a long story." Dico's face fell slightly. "Come round the back and I'll fill you in."

Amelia and Johnny shrugged at one another and followed Dico round to the garden where he had pulled out three seats on the decking. "You guys want a drink?"

Amelia and Johnny both shook their heads. "What's going on then Dico?" Amelia asked, trying to mask the concern in her voice.

"Well if you're looking for Bam he'll be back shortly. I think he's out filming."

"Why aren't you with him?" Johnny frowned.

"That's the long story part." Dico scratched his balding head. "Once you left Amelia, everything changed. We started filming the new season a few weeks later but it wasn't the same without you, and Bam wasn't the same. He was pushing everyone away and Raab suggested that we should ask you to come back, but that ended up causing a huge fight between them and Raab moved out. I still see him occasionally but he has nothing to do with Bam anymore."

Amelia listened in shock as Dico spoke about Raab. "Is he ok?" she asked.

"Oh yeah he's fine. I think seeing how Bam treated you that day opened his eyes to what Bam's really like and he couldn't deal with it. They've been friends for years and Raab trusted him, but he let him down."

Amelia sighed sadly. She had never expected to come back to this and it made her feel terrible but she needed to hear the full story so she gestured for Dico to continue.

"Rake left not long after Raab. I think he just got to the point where he decided to grow up and concentrate on his career. He still pops by from time to time though."

"What about Ryan?" Amelia asked, wondering why her sister had not told her all of this.

"Oh Ryan's still here, for now." Dico explained. "But I'll let you into a little secret. He's found his own place and is thinking of asking Rose to move in with him."

Amelia's eyes widened and she made a mental note to have words with Ryan before leaving. While it was nice that he wanted to make a go of things with Rose, she needed to make sure that he was not going to hurt her.

"And you?" Johnny asked before Amelia could say anything about Ryan. They had both noticed the box that Dico had been carrying.

"Well they're doing the last of the filming for the season this morning so I'm off now. That's where Ryan and Rose are. I didn't want to leave Bam in the lurch with the show after Raab and Rake quit, but Rake's got a spare room so I'm going to live with him."

"I can't believe it. The whole crew has just fallen apart?" Amelia exclaimed, putting her head in her hands in despair. She could never have imagined that her leaving would cause all of this.

"Well we're all still friends, except Bam and Raab, but yeah, Bam's been a massive dick and no one wants to be around him anymore except for Novak."

"Makes sense." Johnny said. He had never much cared for Novak.

"So why are you guys here?" Dico asked curiously. "I gotta say, after I dropped you at the airport I never thought I'd see you in West Chester again."

Amelia was not surprised that Dico wasn't aware of Bam's actions so she proceeded to explain to him the reason for their visit. Unlike April, Dico did not seem at all suspicious of Johnny's presence but equally as appalled by Bam's behaviour.

"Well that aint that just the cherry on the cake." Dico sighed. "If I was having any doubts about ditching Bam I sure am not now. I miss the days when we would sort out our disagreements by destroying each other's vehicles or putting tacks in shoes. Why do things have to get so serious?"

"Hey, I'm not ruling out sawing the top off Bam's new Hummer." Johnny laughed, but Amelia knew he was being serious.

Dico sat and chatted with Amelia and Johnny for a while and Amelia was enjoying their catch up, but as the minutes ticked by, Bam's return drew nearer and nearer. Johnny could sense her nerves and he wished he could comfort her somehow without attracting Dico's attention. He knew being here was probably a bad idea. After all he was without a doubt the last person Bam would want to see right now and if he wasn't so worried about Amelia he would have stayed at April and Phil's.

It wasn't long before the sound of an approaching vehicle could be heard from the garden and Amelia instantly turned a sickly shade of green. "I don't feel very well." She groaned, grasping her stomach. The thought of the impending confrontation made her want to throw up. She hated confrontation. Dico and Johnny watched anxiously as she stood up and started pacing. Johnny started to feel nervous for her. Nobody knew how Bam was going to react, but whatever the outcome was, it was not going to be good.

It soon became apparent that multiple vehicles had arrived, much to Amelia's dismay. The last thing she wanted was an audience, especially if Bam's new girlfriend was included. "You ok Meels?" Johnny looked at her in concern.

Amelia nodded, having lost her voice once again. She just wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible so as soon as she heard footsteps approaching she crossed her arms and waited. Needless to say, Amelia was the last person that Bam had expected to find in his garden that morning and as soon as he spotted her standing on the decking he came to an abrupt halt and stared up at her in shock, confusing his companions. Amelia noticed Novak was amongst them but she did not recognise anyone else and she briefly wondered where Ryan and Rose could be.

"What are you doing here?" Bam called over to her, still rooted to the spot. It was a stupid question really. He knew perfectly well why his wife was here, he had just not expected her so soon.

"Why do you think Bam?" Amelia called back without unfolding her arms. She wondered if he was going to bring his entourage up to the decking or if they would be granted a little privacy.

Bam turned to his friends. "I've just got some business to take care of. I'll meet you at The Note in half an hour."

Novak and company nodded their heads and retraced their steps back to the front of the house like obedient children, but a blonde haired woman hung back and Amelia recognised her as the replacement camera woman. "Is everything ok Bam?" the woman asked worriedly.

"Yes it's fine. Go." Bam snapped and she hurried off to join the others. Amelia, Johnny and Dico watched the scene unfold before them, unable to contain their amusement and Amelia turned back to Johnny to exchange looks of disbelief.

"Good luck." Johnny mouthed to her as Bam made his way up to the decking.

Amelia found a new sense of confidence and turned back round, ready to face her husband.


	7. Confrontation

"Alright, I know why you're here." Bam shrugged as he walked over to his wife. There was no point in beating around the bush.

"Are you for real?" Amelia asked as calmly as possible, staring at Bam. She found being back at Castle Bam and standing face to face with her husband after all this time a strange sensation indeed. It seemed like only five minutes ago they had been kissing and cuddling on this very decking and now they were fighting over their child and marriage.

"I could ask you the same question. Why did you bring him?" Bam motioned towards Johnny who had remained quietly in his seat. Dico on the other hand, had made a sharp and discreet exit from the scene.

"Johnny has nothing to do with this. I'm asking you why you feel the need to have sole custody of our son. What makes you think you have any right?" She demanded looking directly into Bam's eyes. He had dark circles underneath them and she thought he looked ill, or maybe just tired. He had probably had one too many late nights and he wasn't as young as he used to be. His days of partying must be catching up with him.

"He's my son and I can give him a better life than you can." Bam told her, his face contorted into a frown as kept glancing over at Johnny. "I know you've come here to try and change my mind but there's no point. If you think you can just up sticks and fly across the country to let him bring up my son you're mistaken." He pointed an accusatory finger at Johnny.

"Don't make me laugh Bam. No judge in their right mind would award you custody. Look at you. You're a mess." Amelia shook her head, fighting to keep calm. If she flew off the handle then Bam had won. She was sure that at least seventy five percent of Bam's plans were simply to wind her up, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. "Where have you been for the past seven months? You didn't seem bothered about your son until now."

Bam knew that this was a very good question and one that he would have to answer if he was going to win his case, but for now he chose to ignore it. "Why did you bother coming here Amelia? I thought I told you not to come back. Have you just come to flaunt lover boy in my face?" There was not the slightest trace of emotion on his face, which frustrated Amelia.

"I'm asking myself that very question Bam. I thought maybe I would be able to talk to you but I can see you're just going to be impossible. While I'm here you won't mind if I collect the rest of my belongings." Amelia replied diplomatically. "Of course," she added before walking away, "that's if you've not given them away to your whores." And with that she turned on her heel and walked inside the house, leaving Bam and Johnny alone.

When she was safely within the house Amelia collapsed on the nearest sofa and let out a deep breath hoping no one had followed her. It had taken all her strength to remain composed and now all she wanted to do was to scream, shout and throw stuff around. Leaving Bam and Johnny together was a bad idea but she needed to be alone for a while. Once she had caught her breath she stood up, intending to make her way up to the bedroom but she found herself stricken by nerves. She didn't actually want to step foot in that room. She could only imagine how many different women had slept in that bed since she had left, or maybe even while she was still living there. The thought made her feel nauseous but she needed to get her stuff back. April had only been able to bring so much with her when she had flown over with Brandon.

Hesitantly Amelia entered the room and was surprised to see it was pretty much in the same state as when she had left. Bam's clothes were strewn across the floor but on first glance there was no sign of any female underwear, or indeed any sign that a woman had been there. She went straight to the wardrobe, pulling out the remaining items of clothing that had been left and folded them neatly on the bed before stuffing them into an overnight bag. She did the same with the drawers and the jewellery and makeup, finding it quite strange that everything was exactly as she had left it seven months ago. What surprised Amelia the most however, was the fact that the photograph of her, Bam and Brandon was still in its original position on the bedside table. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much that Bam had kept it there. For all she knew he didn't use this bedroom anymore. That would explain why nothing had changed, she reasoned and put any doubts to the back of her mind. Once she had packed all of her things she sat down on the bed for the final time and pulled a small package from her jean's pocket.

Inside the tissue paper she had delicately wrapped the necklace that Bam had bought her for their first Christmas together. She didn't wear it anymore as it brought back too many painful memories, but it would not feel right to simply throw it away. She had intended to give it back to Bam at some point or other, but rather than deal with him any further she slipped the necklace out of the tissue and placed it gently on the bedside table so that he would see it if he ever decided to enter the room again.

Back out on the decking Johnny and Bam were watching one another like hawks, waiting for the other to make the first move. Johnny knew that Bam would crack first. He did not have patience like his older rival.

"You can wipe that smirk off your face Knoxville. You've not won anything. You're welcome to her in my opinion."

Johnny suppressed his laughter. He had been spot on and now the temptation to respond was too much to resist. "This isn't a game you know Bam."

"Who said it was? You seem to be enjoying yourself though."

"The only reason I'm here is to give Amelia moral support. I don't want to fight you dude." Johnny held up his hands.

"I'm sure that's not all you're giving her." Bam scoffed and lit a cigarette.

"Like I said Bam, I don't see why the two of us have to fall out about this." Johnny pulled a packet of cigarettes from Amelia's hand bag that was lying on the table and lit himself one. At the back of his mind he was thinking about what Jeff had said regarding a third movie. There was no harm in a little damage limitation while he was here.

"Whatever dude, I'm not interested. As far as I'm concerned we're through. That goes for the whole Jackass thing. I don't need it."

Johnny exhaled a large cloud of smoke. This was exactly how he had hoped Bam would not react. Maybe it was a little early for an attempt at reconciliation. Time was a healer after all. "Ok, have it your way Bam. No one wants to fight you. Just because you and Amelia have split up doesn't mean it has to cause a rift or anything."

"No you're right. But the moment you jumped into bed with her caused a fucking earthquake if you catch my drift."

Johnny could hardly blame Bam for being angry but he had certainly got the wrong idea. He knew nothing about the relationship between Amelia and Johnny but even if he did, it still probably wouldn't change his mind. "There is nothing going on between us dude." Johnny lied through his teeth.

"Yeah right." Bam shook his head. "You're such an asshole Knoxville, but I can see right through you. You think that pretty face of yours entitles you to do whatever you want to whoever you want, but I've got news for you bro. You're a nobody, just like everyone else." Johnny really had some nerve coming here and trying to pretend that nothing was going on with Amelia. Did he think Bam was that stupid?

"Oh Brandon, when will you grow up. You're just paranoid because she left you and you can't accept the fact that it was all your fault, not that she found a better model. Does it help you sleep at night imagining her in bed with me? " Johnny realised he had over stepped the mark when Bam suddenly began to make his way over with a murderous rage in his eyes.

Johnny jumped to his feet, prepared to pull the first punch if he needed to, but at that very moment Amelia reappeared in the doorway with her bags in one hand and a phone in the other. "If either of you makes another move I'm calling the cops." She looked pointedly at Johnny, hoping he would back down first. She could not cope with them brawling right now; she just wanted to get away from Castle Bam.

Johnny looked at her apologetically and sat back down in his chair like a scolded puppy and Bam remained in his place, still staring at Johnny with hatred. Amelia shook her head in exasperation and started to make her way round to the front of the house, not bothering to see if Bam or Johnny were following. Dico was waiting for her at the car and gave her a brief hug before leaving himself and promising to keep in touch. By the time he had disappeared into the distance, Johnny and Bam were standing by the rental car, as far away from one another as possible.

"I won't bother you again Bam. I can see what a busy man you are these days, but you can expect to hear from my solicitor in the next few days." She told Bam as Johnny helped her pile her things into the car. Bam did not reply and Amelia and Johnny climbed into the car without another word.


	8. Rose & Ryan

After filming the final scenes for the show everyone had piled into the cars and headed back to Castle Bam for celebratory drinks. In Rose's opinion it was more like consolation drinks. Since Raab and Rake had left the output and creativity of Viva La Bam had reached an all time low and she was amazed that they had been able to complete all of the episodes. Ryan seemed quietly excited as he started driving back. He had been acting suspicious lately and Rose was curious to find out the reason behind it.

"Where are we going?" she asked her boyfriend when all of a sudden he drove past the turning for Castle Bam.

"It's a surprise." Ryan grinned mischievously, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Rose eyed him cautiously. She was not a fan of surprises, especially not today of all days. She was feeling a little nervous as she had finally decided to talk to Ryan about her job offers. She wanted to see what he thought she should do. As tempted as she was to move to LA, she didn't really want to be that far away from Ryan and she wasn't sure if their relationship could stand any more distance. It had been nice to spend the whole summer with him, even if it had meant such close contact with her idiot of a brother in law.

After a twenty minute drive, Ryan pulled up outside a big detached house that was surrounded by trees and had a long gravel driveway. Ryan switched off the engine and stared at Rose, waiting for her to say something. He hoped she liked the property as much as he did. It was a lot smaller than Castle Bam but it had plenty of land and above all else, privacy. What made it even better was the fact that it was well within his price range so he could easily afford any necessary renovations.

"What do you think?" Ryan asked, still grinning at Rose in anticipation.

"What do I think about what?" she laughed at his childlike expression and looked up at the impressive building before her.

"The house. I was thinking of buying it." He replied casually in an attempt to provoke a reaction out of her.

Rose's eyes widened. This really was a surprise. "You want to buy it!" she repeated and continued to stare at the house.

"Yup." Ryan laughed at her reaction, it was exactly as he had expected. "You wanna look inside?" He opened the car door.

"Sure." She smiled excitedly and followed him out of the car and up to the front door. Rose loved looking round houses. She was generally a very nosy person and could not help herself.

Ryan was swinging a set of keys around his index finger as he came to a halt at the door. "It belongs to a friend of mine who's moving to New York. He said he'd give me a discount." He explained, turning the key in the lock.

"Nice." Rose grinned and proceeded to follow Ryan on a tour of the house. She did know what came as more of a shock, the fact that Ryan wanted to leave Castle Bam or the fact that the house was so nice.

"So do you like it?" he asked once they had come full circle.

Rose walked out to the back garden and took a seat on the wall. The house truly was beautiful. It had four ensuite bedrooms and two bathrooms, a swimming pool and acres upon acres of land. Rose loved it and she told Ryan so. If he was planning on buying a place of his own, this place in fact, it would change everything. Rose thought she could quite happily take the job in West Chester if she was to live far away enough from Bam. After the way he had treated her sister, Rose could not stand to be anywhere near the man and she hated being a guest in his house. Thankfully he tended to ignore her presence most of the time but it did not stop her feeling uncomfortable around him. It was almost as if she was betraying Amelia by staying there and she hated it.

"If I buy it, will you move in with me?" Ryan smiled nervously, secretly crossing his fingers behind his back. He was absolutely crazy about Rose and he was finally ready to make a commitment to her. He was fed up with Bam's behaviour and it felt like the right time for him to go his own way. After all, he had been saying he would find his own place for the past few years and there was no time like the present.

"There was actually something I wanted to talk you about." Rose hesitated, feeling bad for keeping Ryan waiting for an answer. She told him about the different job offers and he was perfectly understanding. "The only thing holding me back from accepting the job here in West Chester was Bam, but if we were to live here we would have our own space and our own lives. I'd really like that Ryan. I would love to move in with you."

Ryan beamed and leant over to kiss her. He could not be any happier. This was the start of the rest of his life and he was pretty sure he had learnt how to make a relationship work by learning from his best friend's mistakes.

"Oh my God I'd better ring Amelia! I forgot that she flew back to LA last week and I haven't spoken to her for like, three weeks. She'll kill me for not telling her about this straight away!" Rose panicked, making Ryan laugh as she dug through her hand bag to find her phone.

"Hey Meels." Rose sang down the phone when her sister answered.

"Hi, I've been meaning to call you." Amelia laughed.

"Guess what." Rose grinned to herself, knowing that Amelia would probably never guess in a million years.

"What?" Amelia sighed. She did not sound overly amused, but Rose was too excited to think anything of it.

"Ryan's just asked me to move in with him!" Rose exclaimed. "And I said yes, obviously! You should see the house Amelia, it's amazing!"

"That's great Rose. I'm really happy for you. Are you in West Chester now?"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Are you free this afternoon? Can you meet me at Ape and Phil's?"

"Ape and Phil's? What are you doing there Amelia?" Rose demanded. "Aren't you supposed to be in LA?"

"Yes but something came up. I really need to talk to you. Can you come over?"

"Sure, give me half an hour. What's happened Amelia? Are you ok? You sound like you're crying?"

"I'm fine, I'll see you in half an hour." And with that Amelia hung up the phone leaving Rose incredibly confused and worried.

"Is everything ok babe?" Ryan asked in concern.

"I don't know. Can you drive me to Ape's?"


	9. Is That a Proposition?

In a normal situation, Amelia would have considered two in the afternoon to be too early to start drinking, but coffee was just not going to do the trick today. What Amelia really needed was an ice cold, extremely alcoholic beverage to take the edge off her confrontation with Bam. Before she knew it, her sister and Ryan had arrived at Ape and Phil's, and Phil had bundled the four of them into his van and dropped them off at a bar in town. Ryan reliably informed them that Bam was not likely make an appearance so they could relax and catch up, undisturbed. Johnny and Ryan went straight ahead to the bar and ordered in the first round of drinks while Amelia and Rose found a table.

Johnny had been a little apprehensive of seeing Ryan, unsure if he was still one hundred percent loyal to Bam, but as it turned out he had nothing to worry about. Ryan had greeted him like the old friends they were and Johnny could tell that it was not going to be awkward. Ryan had a wonderful ability to see the positive side in all circumstances and it was difficult to feel unhappy around him.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on Amelia?" Rose asked in exasperation. Her sister had been tight lipped up until now and it was driving her sister crazy. She was never one to turn down a drink but she couldn't relax until she knew what was wrong with Amelia.

Amelia glanced over at the bar where Johnny and Ryan were being served. "Bam's filed for sole custody."

"What!" Rose exclaimed in horror, slamming her bag down on the table. "No way. That's impossible. What the fuck does he think he's doing? That fucking arsehole!"

Amelia had expected Rose to react like this. She could always trust her sister to provide a suitably dramatic outburst. Once Rose had finished her onslaught of expletives, Amelia continued to fill her sister in on the situation before the men returned from the bar. She hoped Johnny would subtly explain the situation to Ryan so she didn't have to go through it again.

"I can't believe that no one knew what he was up to." Rose sighed in frustration as she thought about her brother in law. "I've hardly seen him all summer but it's not like him to keep anything quiet. I wish we'd known. Maybe we could have stopped him before he took it this far."

Amelia reached over and touched her sister's arm gently. She knew what Rose was like. She hated not being in control. "Stop it Rose. It's not your fault. Even if you had known, you wouldn't be able to change his mind. I didn't even get as far as trying because he pissed me off so much."

Rose frowned. "Does Ryan know about it?" She wondered as she watched Johnny and Ryan make their way over.

"Of course not." Amelia shook her head. "Not even April knew until the other day."

"I guess I'm stupid for even asking. I know he would never keep anything like that from me." Rose sighed and smiled as the guys sat down beside them.

"Amelia, I am so sorry..." Ryan started to apologise as soon as he had sat down, but Amelia cut him off, thankful that Johnny had done the honours.

"There's no need Ryan. I've already been through this with Rose. There's nothing you could have done. I just want to forget about it until I can see Johnny's solicitor." Amelia smiled at him as convincingly as she could.

Johnny slid a large glass of JD and coke towards her and put a comforting hand on her knee under the table. She took a refreshing sip and with her free hand, squeezed Johnny's back. She couldn't wait to get back to LA and collect Brandon so that they could sort this mess out and then concentrate on their relationship, but for now she was intent on enjoying her time with her sister.

"So if I remember, you called me to tell me something?" Amelia prompted Rose, keen to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget." Rose laughed and took Ryan's hand on top of the table. "We've got some news."

Amelia's face turned pale as she thought the worst, making Rose and Ryan laugh. "Don't worry sis, I'm not pregnant if that's what you were thinking!" Rose giggled and Amelia breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't think she would be able to cope if her little sister had gone and got herself into the same situation that Amelia had. "We're moving in together." Rose grinned proudly and started to describe the house to Amelia and Johnny.

After their conversation with Dico that morning, Amelia had seen this coming but not necessarily so soon. As the older sister, Amelia was highly protective of Rose and in her opinion no man was good enough. Still, she had always liked Ryan and when she had first moved into Castle Bam she had considered him to be Bam's voice of reason. Maybe Ryan was the guy for Rose, she thought as they toasted the happy news.

"Congratulations." Johnny smiled, shaking Ryan's hand across the table and leaning over to kiss Rose on the cheek. "Make sure we're invited for the house warming party."

Ryan and Rose glanced at one another and smirked. "We?" Rose raised an eyebrow at Jonny. They knew that Johnny had gone to England with Amelia, but they still didn't know what was going on between them. To Rose and Ryan's amusement, Amelia and Johnny looked liked rabbits caught in car headlights and it told them all they needed to know.

"I'll let you handle this one." Johnny nudged Amelia. There was no point in trying to hide it from Amelia's sister, but he didn't want to upset her by letting his mouth run away with him. He had learnt from previous experiences that it was better to keep your mouth shut when women were involved.

"Well there's no point in trying to fool you." Amelia looked pointedly at her sister who could always read her like a book. Rose laughed but was still staring expectantly at the pair of them. "Yes, Johnny and I are 'together', whatever that means. But for obvious reasons we're keeping it quiet and we'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone."

Johnny smiled and put an arm around Amelia, squeezing her reassuringly and she smiled back. It felt good to be able to tell people that they were a couple. She couldn't for the day when she could shout it from the rooftops.

"Well it's about bloody time!" Rose remarked and Ryan agreed. "Who cares what anyone thinks. As long as you're happy that's all that matters."

"Thanks." Amelia smiled, glad that she had the support of her sister.

"Yeah this is great news." Ryan grinned. "I could have told you four years ago that the two of you were supposed to be together, but past loyalties and such..." he trailed off.

"Thanks bro." Johnny nodded at Ryan sincerely.

Now that one more obstacle was out of the way, Amelia felt herself beginning to relax and as the drinks continued to flow she was able to put Bam to the back of her mind. Why shouldn't she be happy after all? She was in love with an amazing guy and her sister was settling down with Ryan. On Monday she would meet with the solicitor and put an end to this ridiculous custody situation.

Johnny smiled at Amelia. He could see that her brain was still working on over drive and he wished he could do something to make her feel better. The desire to kiss her was overwhelming and he had been waiting for the perfect moment to make his move without Amelia feeling awkward. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ryan and Rose made their way to the bar to get the next round of drinks and Johnny seized the opportunity.

"You've got something on your cheek." Johnny pointed to Amelia's face casually and pretended to wipe the imaginary mark away. Instead however, he leant in close, putting a hand on her cheek and he pressed his lips delicately on the side of her face.

"Smooth Knoxville." She laughed, turning her head so that their lips were practically touching. "You're going to have to do better than that." She teased.

"Is that a proposition?" Johnny smiled mischievously, keeping his hand in place. He tried to kiss her again but she kept moving her head slightly so that he missed.

"I'd call it more of a challenge." She smirked and leant closer so that she could whisper into his ear. "Are you up to it?"

"I'm always up for a challenge." He laughed as he felt her hot breath on his neck. Damn that girl could drive him wild. He brought his hand down to her waist. "You've got the word 'challenge' written all over you."

"Boy you sure know how to make a girl feel special." Amelia giggled into his ear, placing her hand on the back of his neck and stroking her fingers through his unruly hair.

"And you sure know how to drive a guy crazy." He whispered, kissing Amelia's ear gently.


	10. Catch Me If You Can

To both Amelia and Johnny's relief, April and Phil had gone out by the time they returned to the house. Ape had left a note to say that they had gone for a meal with friends and wouldn't be back til very late. Not only did this mean that Amelia could avoid having to tell April how the confrontation with Bam had gone, it also meant that they could have some privacy.

As Amelia put April's note to one side on the kitchen counter, Johnny came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" he whispered and she shivered as she felt his warm breath on her skin.

"I will be." She smiled and twisted round so that she was facing him. "Thank you for coming with me today."

Johnny cut her off by planting his lips firmly against hers. There was no need to dwell on what had happened, he thought and he was determined to take her mind of the morning's events. Amelia smiled into the kiss, prompting him to kiss her back more passionately and run his fingers through her hair. She moaned softly in response and brought her hands up around his neck to pull herself closer to him. Before they knew it, Johnny had backed Amelia up against the counter and their hips were in contact.

"So about that challenge." He grinned, pulling away from her slightly.

Amelia let her arms drop to her side and her hands found their way to the waist line of Johnny's trousers. "Catch me if you can." She smirked and in the blink of an eye she had side stepped Johnny and sprinted out of the kitchen. Johnny remained rooted to the spot, frozen by a mixture of surprise and awe at the speed with which Amelia had disappeared from the room. Well, had said it himself, she was a challenge, he thought, laughing to himself. He should have known better than to think he could have her so easily.

After searching for Amelia outside and in all of the downstairs rooms Johnny thought he could hear the sound of running water so he made his way upstairs with as little noise as possible, not wanting to alert her to his presence. The guest bedroom that they had been staying in was shut, but he was sure that this was the source of the sound. Ever so gently he pushed the door open, fully aware that this could be a prank, after all, Amelia had learnt from the best. There was no sign of her in the bedroom but the running water was definitely coming from the ensuite bathroom and Johnny treaded softly across the carpet, wondering what he was going to find.

He peered around the door and sure enough, the shower was running. The bathroom had steamed up, but through the glass he could make out the silhouette of Amelia standing in the bath and as he came closer he was surprised to find that she had taken off all of her clothes.

"What are you waiting for?" she called to him over the sound of the water. Not wanting to waste any time, Johnny climbed into the shower fully clothed and took Amelia into his arms.

"This is a pleasant surprise." He grinned and she giggled pulling him closer to her wet body. Her long hair clung to her back and her makeup had smudged but she looked more beautiful than ever, Johnny thought.

"Were the clothes really necessary?" she looked him up and down. Although most of the water was cascading off her body, Johnny was getting increasingly soaked by the spray.

"I thought this was a game of catch and I didn't want to let my prey get away." He replied, allowing her to pull the damp t-shirt over his head and discard it on the bathroom floor.

"You did very well to find me." Amelia joked, placing her hands on his chest. "Even if it did take you a while."

"I'd better not waste any more time then." He grinned, placing his hands on her bare hips and pulling her into him. "You're very sexy when you're wet you know."

Amelia laughed and kissed him roughly, biting his bottom lip before breaking away. "You're not too bad yourself." She manoeuvred slightly so that Johnny was under the water too. "But I think you could do with ditching the trousers."

After possibly the longest shower ever, Amelia and Johnny cuddled up in bed for the rest of the evening. As Amelia rested her head on Johnny's shoulder she sighed in content. It was nice to be able to spend all this time together again. Since returning from England they'd had to make do with stealing intimate moments in the office when no one was around and Johnny would come round to Amelia's in the evening. They lay quietly for some time, simply enjoying the company and listening to sound of each other's heart beating. Johnny had taken his contact lenses out and was now wearing his thick rimmed glasses, much to Amelia's delight. She always thought he looked incredibly cute in his glasses. If he wasn't wearing his glasses he would be wearing his aviators, even in doors, which sometimes frustrated her. As sexy as he looked in shades Amelia preferred to be able to see his beautiful brown eyes.

After a while, Amelia propped herself up one elbow so that she could lean over and look at Johnny clearly. "Why do you always wear your shades indoors?" she asked thoughtfully, gently tracing the skin beneath his eyes with her finger. "You have such gorgeous eyes."

"Well gee thanks ma'am." Johnny laughed, fluttering his eyelashes dramatically.

"No seriously. I want to know." She smiled, continuing to stroke his face. "I'm curious."

Johnny pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I don't like these crow's feet around my eyes. They make me look old. Well, they make me look my age." He pointed at the skin at the side of his eyes and pulled a face. As an actor Johnny thought his face was his most important asset and the fact that he was starting to age made him feel insecure, although he had never let anyone know it. Until now, that is.

Amelia shook her head. "Don't be silly. You're not old. You're perfect."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." He pouted and slipped his glasses back on. "And look, I'm grey!" he pointed to his head. "I've been grey for years but I always dye it when we're doing a movie." He knew this was already obvious to Amelia but it made him feel better for getting it off his chest.

"I like it." Amelia shrugged and ruffled his hair. "It makes you look defined."

"Pah!" Johnny exclaimed, swatting her hand away. "Defined is just a nice way of saying I'm old."

"Boy someone's got a complex." Amelia teased leaning forward to press her lips against his cheek.

Johnny kissed her back but his mind was preoccupied. "Don't you think I'm too old though? I'm ten years older than you. Doesn't it bother you?" He stared at her expectantly.

Amelia rolled her eyes but she was worried about his insecurity. "I don't care about the age difference Johnny. You know you're absolutely perfect to me. I love you just the way you are, warts and all. Not that you have any." She quickly added. "Please don't ever change."

"Well seeing as you asked so nicely." Johnny laughed and cuddled Amelia tightly, feeling significantly better. Every now and then his ego just needed a little stroking. He was not the over confident jerk that he used to be. Sure he was still a jerk, but somewhere along the line he had developed a conscious and an inferiority complex. Perhaps it was a side effect of becoming a parent. "I love you too by the way." He smiled as he pulled Amelia back down into his arms and they returned to a comfortable silence.

Eventually Johnny broke the silence. "So er... There's actually something I've wanted to ask you but I wasn't sure when would be the right time..." Johnny mumbled and Amelia detected a nervous tone to his voice.

"What's that?" she asked curiously, propping herself up again. Johnny remained on his back and closed his eyes briefly as he worked up the courage to respond. "Well, I know we've not really been together all that long and everything's up in the air at the moment but...when things have settled...maybe you'd move in with me?"

Amelia stared at Johnny in surprise as she thought about what he had just said. "I mean, I'll understand if you don't want to. I don't want you to rush into anything it's just...It kinda gets a bit lonely in that house and I miss you when you're not around. I'm really serious about us Amelia. I don't want to mess this up."

"Relax PJ." Amelia smiled, putting a hand to his cheek. "You don't have to explain yourself. I'd love to move in with you. I wish we could do it sooner but it will be worth the wait." She kissed his forehead tenderly. "I'm really serious about us too. For now I guess you'll just have to keep sneaking over to mine in the middle of the night if you get lonely."

Johnny laughed. "I'll hold you to that." He pulled her free arm across his chest and Amelia burrowed her head in the crook of his neck.


	11. Trust No One

"And what time do you call this!"

"Sorry Steve! I overslept. I think I'm still jetlagged from flying back from England." Amelia apologised profusely as she stood on Steve's doorway, waiting for her to let him in. Two little dogs were jumping up and down, excited by the visitor.

"I don't mean the time today, I mean where the hell have you been for the past three months!" He demanded in his raspy voice, trying to maintain a serious expression on his face.

"I'm sorry Steve. I'm a rubbish friend." She sighed, before he pulled her into a bone crushing bear hug, only exciting the dogs further

"It's ok. I think I can forgive you." He laughed after he let her go. "Come on in and meet Walter and Bernie." He motioned for her to follow him into the apartment, calling the dogs to heel. Steve was still in the sober living complex but he had been clean for seven months and looking all the better for it. He had even re-homed two rescue dogs. Amelia smiled as he gestured for her to sit down and offered her a soda. She was happy to see her friend looking so well.

"So how was England?" he asked, joining her on the sofa. They had spoken briefly over the phone during the past few months but Amelia had been a little hazy on the details, preferring to talk about Steve rather than the blossoming romance between her and Johnny.

"It was great thanks." She grinned. "It was nice to see my parents again and..."

"And Knoxville?" Steve cut her off, grinning.

"What about him?" Amelia laughed, trying not to blush at the mention of Johnny's name.

"Are you two, you know..."Steve pretended to hump the arm of the couch, earning a smack from Amelia.

"Steve!" she exclaimed. "Don't be so crude."

Steve simply shook his head, giving her a 'what do you expect' look before folding his arms dramatically, awaiting the details.

"Fine." She sighed but she couldn't suppress her laughter. "Be as crude as you like, who am I to try and change you." She stuck her tongue out, but Steve was still not satisfied.

"Come on Amelia, you know the deal. I stay sober for you and in return you give me all the gory details." Amelia looked pointedly at Steve and he shrugged his shoulder. "Ok, Ok, so I'm not just staying sober for _your _benefit." He corrected himself with a grin. "But you still have to spill the beans."

"Are you sure you're not a woman?" Amelia raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was us girls who liked to gossip."

"I could do the double back for you if it would make you feel more comfortable sharing your sex life with me?" Steve offered with a smirk.

Amelia shook her head definitely. "I do not need to see that again Steve. Once was more than enough. I still haven't recovered." She closed her eyes and tried to block out the image of Steve's favourite party trick.

"Jeez Amelia, there's no need to be so rude about my lady bits." Steve cried in mock offence.

Amelia elbowed him playfully and took a sip from her coke can. She had missed Steve more than she had expected. Spending time with him always took her mind off what was going on in the rest of her life and for this she was extremely glad. She had already told Steve about Bam over the phone when she had called to arrange this visit. She had her first appointment with Johnny's solicitor later that afternoon and she was thankful that Steve wasn't bringing the custody issue up. As much as she had been trying to ignore the problem, it was still dwelling in the back of her mind and she hoped that speaking to the solicitor would make her feel better. Now, every time she looked at her son she felt dread wash over her, as she couldn't help but imagine what would happen if a judge were to take Bam seriously. She could not lose Brandon.

"So...I'm still waiting." Steve nudged her, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"You know, I'm sure you could just call Johnny up and do this via guy talk instead of sitting here trying to embarrass me." Amelia laughed but stopped in horror as Steve pulled out his phone.

"What a brilliant idea, thanks!"

"No, I was joking Steve, don't..." She trailed off hopelessly as he started to ring Johnny. Amelia knew Johnny would pick up because he said he was going into the office today before meeting up with her to see the solicitor. It was Amelia's day off and she had left Brandon at Laura's for a few hours.

"Hey dude, what's up?" Steve grinned into the phone and proceeded to start a casual conversation with Johnny. Amelia could not hear Johnny on the other line but she felt her face glow red as Steve started to talk about England.

"Yeah I just called for a quick catch up. I'm seeing Amelia soon but I didn't want to put my foot in it, so to speak, so I figured I'd just check in and see how things are with you guys." Amelia had to hand it to the guy; he could be subtle when he wanted to be, subtle and very convincing.

"Ah no she won't mind dude. She'll probably be glad that you've already filled me in. It will make it less awkward for her." Steve winked at Amelia.

"Steve, stop it!" Amelia hissed, wanting to curl up in a corner and disappear. She could only imagine what Johnny would tell him.

"What? Oh no that was just Walter." Steve laughed, ignoring Amelia and explaining away the hissing noise by blaming it on one of the dogs. "So what was I saying? Oh yeah; you and Amelia. So what's the deal? ...Yeah of course I'll keep it on the down low... You are? Oh that's great." Steve turned to Amelia grinning and gave her the thumbs up with his free hand. "So have you shagged her yet?" Steve asked bluntly, making Amelia cringe. He saw this and it only encouraged him further.

"Speakerphone?" he mouthed to Amelia and she shook her head in horror. "Suit yourself." He mouthed again and continued his conversation with Johnny.

"Oh come on tell me dude, I'm your bro! It will go no further. I promise... Seriously dude I promise I won't tell her that you told me." Steve looked so proud of himself. If he hadn't been trying to humiliate Amelia she would have found it quite funny.

"Yes! Nice one dude. Way to go! ... Any details? ... No? ... Fair enough, I understand. Well I'm really happy for you guys. You should drop by sometime soon... At the weekend? Yeah, look forward to it! ... Yeah I know, you're a busy man. Well it was nice to chat... You too... Catch you later dude." And with that Steve tossed his phone aside and smiled innocently at Amelia.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?"

"You're a piece of work, you know that Steve-O?" Amelia folded her arms. She wasn't annoyed with Johnny for telling Steve, they were friends after all, she just wished she didn't have to be around to hear the one sided exchange. Still, it could have been worse. Steve could have put Johnny on speakerphone and she really didn't want to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

"That's why you love me." Steve batted his eyelids innocently. "And you can't fault my methods. They get results." He winked at her.

"Ok fine Steve, you know that me and Johnny are sleeping together. Can we please change the subject?" Amelia sighed exasperatedly.

"Well sure. But you know, the jokes on you. I didn't really ring Johnny." He showed her the call history on his phone and sure enough, the last outgoing call had been made to her that morning. "I think you'll find that I just called your bluff." Steve looked ecstatic. Amelia's face fell. She had been well and truly pranked.

"You are an ass Steve." She scolded. "I can't believe I fell for that!" She had to admit, it was very clever of him, but she was annoyed with herself for not having her wits about her. She would have to remember in future, trust no one.

"It's good to know I've still got it, but you know you could have made that a whole lot easier for yourself by just telling me in the first place." Steve smirked. "Or are you all nervous and embarrassed. Aww that's so cute."

Amelia threw a cushion at Steve but it missed and the dogs ran after it.

"I shouldn't laugh, but that is actually pretty funny." Johnny grinned after Amelia told him about Steve's prank. They were in his car driving through down town LA to the solicitor's office. "I can't believe you fell for it though. Did you really think I would just tell him that we had sex?"

"I don't know." Amelia shrugged. "Don't you guys talk about that kind of stuff?" She looked out of the window at the buildings rushing past. She was more than a little nervous about how this meeting would go.

"Well yeah..." Johnny admitted. "But you're not supposed to know that." He chuckled to himself and put a reassuring hand on Amelia's knee. "You fancy a takeaway at Jeff's after this meeting? Or we could just pick Brandon up and I'll take you home if you're feeling stressed?"

"No let's go to Jeff's. I'd like that." Amelia smiled. "I'm sure I'll feel a lot better once this meeting is over and done with."

"That's the spirit." Johnny squeezed her knee.

Before she knew it, they had pulled up in a car park behind an office building and Johnny started rooting through his pockets. Amelia watched curiously as he found what he was looking for and swapped his shades for his proper glasses. "Ahh that's better. Serious Knoxville." He grinned before pulling a stern face and putting his hands on his hips.

Amelia laughed and gave him a quick hug before climbing out of the car. "Thanks PJ. All I seem to do lately is thank you. You're just too damn helpful."

"Well I can stop if it's causing you an issue." He joked and put his arm around her shoulder as they made their way to the entrance of the building.

"I thought I told you not to change." She laughed. Johnny removed his arm from her shoulder and took her hand instead, squeezing it gently.

"You're really not going to like my surprise then." He whispered.

"Why, what is it?" She glanced at him as they walked through the automatic doors of the office.

"I'm getting a sex change." He said, sounding deadly serious for a second or two, after which he doubled over and the whole room was filled with the sound of his infectious laughter.

"Oh you're terrible Johnny." Amelia shook her head but she found herself laughing too. It was unavoidable in his presence and she hung back to compose herself while Johnny went ahead to the reception desk.

"Hello Mr Knoxville." The woman behind the desk smiled, obviously familiar with Johnny.

"Hi Cathy, my friend Ms Jones has an appointment to see Mr Clark." Amelia heard Johnny say. She was so grateful for him being here with her. She really didn't want to go through all of this alone.

"Oh yes he's expecting you. Follow me." Cathy smiled and Johnny held out his hand for Amelia to take.

They made their way down a long corridor before coming to a stop outside a well polished oak door, which was inscribed with the name Mr H Clark, Family Law. Amelia had already gathered that Johnny had used the services of Harry Clark when he had been going through his divorce with Mel. Although from what she had heard, their situation had been significantly more agreeable than Amelia and Bam's.

"Mr Clark, Amelia Jones is here to see you." Cathy popped her head around the door and after receiving the go ahead from her boss, she stood back to let Amelia and Johnny enter.

"PJ! It's good to see you again!" Amelia looked over at the man at the desk who was obviously on first name terms with Johnny. She had expected an older, more official looking guy, but instead she found herself face to face with a man who could be no older than Johnny, with a big sparkling grin and wearing an expensive looking suit.

"Hey Harry." Johnny grinned and approached the desk to shake the man's hand. "Long time no see."

"I know." Harry nodded and gestured for the two of them to take a seat at the desk. "How did the movie go? The last time you were here was to sign the contract."

"Yeah, it went great thanks." Johnny turned to Amelia. "Harry and I are old friends. He specialises in family law but he helps me out with all the legal film shit too." He explained.

"It's nice to meet you Amelia." Harry smiled and reached over to shake her hand too. "PJ has filled me in on your situation and I've had some time to work on it."

"Thank you." Amelia smiled. Harry seemed like a nice man and he put her at ease with his casual attitude and calming demeanour.

"Would either of you guys like a coffee before we get started?" Amelia and Johnny nodded and Harry buzzed the request through to Cathy. "Right then. " he slapped his hands down on the table forcefully. "Let's begin. First things first, I have all the documents you need to get started with the divorce which you can complete in your own time. I will also notify Mr Margera of your wishes and no doubt we shall be hearing from his people sooner or later." Harry paused as Cathy brought the coffees in and waited until she had left to continue. "Do you have any questions about the divorce proceedings?"

"Not right now." Amelia replied. Johnny had offered to go through it with her some time.

"Alrighty then. Now this is an unusual case because your husband has gone right ahead and filed for custody without divorce. So for now we'll put the divorce to one side and focus on the issue at hand. You want to object to Mr Margera's file for sole custody so I've drawn up a letter to send to his solicitor and to West Chester County Court informing them of this." Harry passed a copy of the letter over to Amelia and Johnny for them to read. "That's basically just a formality. The main thing will be the hearing in January. That is, if Mr Margera still wishes to go ahead." Harry began to talk them through the proceedings and Amelia filled him in with any additional information about her relationship with Bam that could be used to build a case against him.

After he was finished Amelia felt relieved. "You are extremely likely to win this case Amelia. In fact, based on what you've told me about your husband you would have a good chance of gaining sole custody yourself if you decided that was for the best.

Amelia shook her head. "I don't want to stop Bam from seeing him." As angry as Bam made her, Amelia did not have it in her to stop him from seeing his son and it was not fair on Brandon either.

"Of course not. But like I said, I don't think you've got anything to worry about. I will keep in touch and if it does go to court I'll arrange you a lawyer over in Westchester."

Amelia and Johnny thanked Harry for his time and help and made their way back to the car. They walked in silence as the meeting had left Amelia with a lot to think about. Harry had certainly put her mind at rest with his confidence in her chances of stopping Bam. Now all she had to do was fill in the divorce papers and wait until the court case at the end of January. That was, of course, if Bam had not changed his mind by then. It would not be the first time.

It wasn't until Johnny had started driving that he broke the silence. "Meels?" He glanced over at her.

Amelia was shaken from her thoughts and turned to look at Johnny, feeling a little guilty for practically ignoring him up until now "Yeah?"

"You wanna prank Jeff?"

Amelia took one look at the childlike and mischievous expression plastered across Johnny's face and she broke into a huge smile.


	12. Asshole isn't swearing

"So what are we going to do to him?" Amelia looked apprehensively at Johnny as he pulled up a few metres away from Jeff and Laura's house. His car was hidden by a row of shrubbery and Johnny was grinning. Amelia could almost see the cogs turning in his brain as he formulated a plan.

"It's quite simple really." Johnny pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and jangled them in front of her face. She continued to stare at him, waiting for some kind of explanation. Johnny shook his head in frustration. "These are _Jeff's_ keys." He laughed and fiddled with them for a moment before producing one that looked suspiciously like it belonged to a vehicle.

"How long have you had them?" Amelia asked incredulously, eyeing the keys in his hand. "Surely he's noticed that they're missing by now?" Jeff might be a little slow sometimes, but he wasn't _that _slow.

Johnny laughed manically. "I stole them from his desk this morning. He's such an idiot. He turned the whole office upside down looking for them and never once did he suspect me." He jangled the keys again, still laughing. "I suppose it was a good job there was a spare key to the van lying around the office.

"Oh Johnny." Amelia tried to scold him but found herself laughing too much. "You're the worst kind of person. Why didn't you just take the spare key? I bet he's going out of his mind."

"Where's the fun it that? He deserves everything he gets."

"So I think I can guess where this is going." Amelia pictured Jeff's beloved, if slightly battered van sitting in pride of place outside his house. Or perhaps Johnny was thinking of the brand new Mercedes that Jeff had purchased a few months ago, which was usually kept locked away in the garage. Obviously locks were no longer an obstacle for Johnny.

"You're learning fast." Johnny grinned, leaning over to peck Amelia on the lips before swinging his door open. "Can you text Laura and get her to distract Jeff for approximately five minutes, preferably away from the front of the house." He asked as they remained hidden behind the bushes.

Amelia nodded and started to text her friend while Johnny put his shades back on. Less than thirty seconds later Laura replied cooperatively and they were ready to roll. As quietly as mice, Johnny and Amelia made their way up to Jeff's driveway where both the Mercedes and the van were parked, next to Laura's SUV. "Are you going to fill me in or do I have to guess what you're going to do next?" Amelia laughed as she and Johnny crept over to the vehicles. She was finding it difficult to be stealthy in a pair of high heels and a pant suit.

"I say we go for the van. It has sentimental value." Johnny grinned, earning approval from Amelia. "Can you keep a look out while I take this thing down the street?"

Amelia nodded and watched as Johnny climbed into the van and the engine spluttered to life. He gave Amelia the thumbs up before slowly reversing the van down the drive and taking off down the road. Amelia waited out of sight of the house for Johnny to return. When he did so he looked extremely smug. "Come on, let's go break the news."

They walked up to the front door and Johnny pressed the bell. Amelia figured she would let Johnny take the lead and she kept quiet when Jeff answered the door. "Hey guys. Come in." Jeff smiled, holding the door open.

"Hey Jeff, I thought you were out." Johnny scratched his head, convincingly.

"What are you on about?" Jeff frowned at his friend. "You knew we were expecting you guys."

"Well yeah." Johnny shrugged as they followed Jeff inside. "But I assumed you weren't in, what with the van not being outside and everything."

Jeff's eyes bulged. "The van's not outside?" Without waiting for Johnny to answer, Jeff hurried past them and pulled the door open. "What the hell!"

Johnny winked at Amelia before heading after Jeff. "You mean it's missing?" Johnny asked in concern as Jeff stared at the spot where he had last seen his beloved van.

"Of course it's missing!" Jeff yelled. "This has to have something to do with my missing keys. I know it!"

"I thought you'd found them? How did you get home?" Johnny looked at him, dead pan.

Jeff shook his head in frustration. "No, I was still looking for them when everyone had gone home. I thought I was going to have to get Laura to pick me up but I found the spare van key. Shit. I wonder who it was."

Amelia was interrupted from watching the scene unfold by Laura and Brandon who hurried over to her. "What's going on?" Laura whispered, watching Jeff in amusement.

Amelia turned her head to whisper back to Laura. "Johnny stole his keys and hid the van."

Laura let out a giggle. "Nice. Well, let's leave them to figure it out. Do you want some coffee...? Or maybe a cocktail?" Laura added, seeing the faint look of stress in Amelia's eyes.

"A cocktail would be amazing." Amelia grinned, picking up her son and following Laura into the house. "So have you had fun today baby?" Amelia asked Brandon as they cuddled on the sofa while Laura prepared the drinks.

"Yeah. We went cinema." Brandon smiled happily. "Jeff got me popcorn."

Amelia grinned. "You're a lucky boy. Did you behave for Uncle Jeff and Aunty Laura?"

Brandon nodded enthusiastically and Laura approached them with drinks. "He was a little angel weren't you Brandon?" She smiled and sat down, handing Amelia a cocktail glass and Brandon a carton of juice. "Honestly Amelia, he's a pleasure to look after. You're obviously a brilliant mom. We're happy to have him whenever you need."

"Thanks Laura." Amelia smiled warmly. "That means a lot. Have you and Jeff thought about having kids?"

Laura laughed and blushed slightly, which was unusual. "Let's just get the wedding out the way first hey? Then we'll see what happens."

Amelia laughed. "That sounds promising! But yeah, I'm glad you two are doing it all the right way round, unlike me and..." she trailed off.

"I wonder where those two have gotten to." Laura mused, swiftly changing the topic of conversation. Amelia could hear the familiar cackling of Johnny and at precisely that moment he and Jeff appeared in the door way. Johnny was holding his stomach, howling with laughter and Jeff was brandishing a set of keys and a small piece of paper, looking a little flustered.

"Jeff got a parking ticket!" Johnny roared with laughter in an attempt to offer an explanation.

"Your boyfriend's an asshole Amelia." Jeff frowned. He sat down next to Laura and took a large gulp of her cocktail. "You need to keep him on a tighter leash."

"Hey!" Laura protested, pulling the glass away from him. "And would you mind your language around Brandon?"

"What?" Jeff looked at his fiancée. "Asshole isn't swearing." Laura hit him on the arm. "Ow!"

Johnny, still trying to recover from his laughing fit, collapsed onto the sofa by Amelia. "Are you ok? Your face is all red." Amelia stared at him curiously.

"I'm...fine..."Johnny was gasping for breath. "Jeff...too funny...parking ticket...pure gold."

Amelia and Laura exchanged looks of faint amusement as the men calmed down. "Do you want a beer honey?" Laura smiled at Jeff, who was still staring in disbelief at his ticket.

"Please." He nodded gratefully. "I'm glad I have the satisfaction of knocking back several beers while Knoxville can't drink." He added once Laura had left the room.

Johnny dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Who needs beer? That ticket has made my day."

Laura returned to the living room with a beer for Jeff and a bottle of coke for Johnny. "So how did it go today?" She asked Amelia tentatively.

Between the two of them, Amelia and Johnny filled Laura and Jeff in on everything that Harry had told them.

"I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about." Laura smiled reassuringly.

Johnny pulled up outside Amelia's apartment and killed the engine. He wasn't sure if she would want him to come inside, but he figured he may as well be a gentleman and help her get Brandon out of the car. Amelia rifled through her handbag in search of her keys while Johnny climbed out of the car and unbuckled the sleeping toddler from the child seat. Without exchanging words, Johnny followed Amelia into the building, carrying Brandon in his arms.

"Thanks." Amelia smiled as Johnny passed Brandon into his mother's arms. "He's flat out. I guess Laura and Jeff wore him out." She laughed and stroked her son's hair. After a little awkward silence between the two of them she spoke up. "Do you want to stay for a drink maybe?"

"Sure." Johnny tried to stifle his grin.

"Great." She smiled. "Well make yourself at home. I'll just put Brandon to bed."

Johnny nodded and took a seat on the sofa. Amelia reappeared moments later with a bottle of beer. "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to change into my pyjamas." She laughed, gesturing to the formal attire she had been wearing for the meeting. She handed Johnny the beer and disappeared once again.

Johnny laughed and went to take a swig of beer before realising that she had left the bottle cap on. He smiled and made his way into the kitchen for a bottle opener, but he was distracted in the hallway by the fact that Amelia had left her bedroom door slightly open and he could hear her humming to herself. He padded silently towards the door and peered through the crack, where he could see Amelia undressing. As much as he knew he should look away, he found himself unable to move, especially when she started to take off her trousers, exposing her bare legs and lacy thong. Johnny had to put a hand to his mouth to stop himself from making a noise. Unfortunately this was not enough to stop Amelia from noticing his presence.

"Hey, Knoxville!" She exclaimed, turning around to face the door. "I know you're there!"

Johnny pushed the door fully open sheepishly. "I'm sorry Meels, I couldn't help myself."

Amelia laughed and took a few steps closer towards him, dressed only in her tank top and thong. "You're such a creeper." She laughed, standing a few metres in front of him.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" she exclaimed, more forcefully than she had intended and she put a hand to his chest. "In fact..."She hesitated. "Will you stay with me tonight? I really don't want to be on my own. I've got so much on my mind." She trailed off and flopped down on the bed, hoping he would say yes.

Johnny sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand. "Of course I will."

Amelia looked up and smiled, planting a tiny kiss on his cheek. She noticed he was still holding the bottle of beer. "Oh shit." She laughed. "I forgot to uncap it!"

"I was just on my way to the kitchen when you err... distracted me." He grinned. Amelia blushed as Johnny put a gentle hand on her bare thigh.

"Well if you're staying, what do you say we share a bottle of wine instead?" She suggested.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Johnny grinned, making Amelia blush again.

"Alright Knoxville. Let me get dressed while you crack open a bottle."

With that Johnny left the bedroom and made his way back to the kitchen in search of alcohol. Amelia followed not long after him and they made themselves comfortable on the sofa. Johnny wrapped his arm around Amelia and she rested her head on his shoulder. He whispered into her ear. "Everything's going to be alright you know Amelia. I promise."


	13. A Repulsive Individual

Ryan had wasted no time when it came to securing the house and he and Rose were due to move in at the end of the week. Before they started moving their belongings however, Ryan was going to have to tackle the issue of his best friend, Bam. As far as Ryan knew, Bam had no idea that he too was intending to move out, and he was not entirely sure how he would take it. On the one hand, Ryan hoped that his friend would not freak out and accuse Ryan of deserting him, but at the same time he knew that if Bam acted like he didn't care, like he had with Dico and the others, it would really upset him. After all, they had been best friends for a hell of a long time.

Rose knew that Ryan was anxious about breaking the news to Bam, so she didn't push the issue and was careful not to mention anything about the house to the others, not that she really had anything to do with Bam's new friends. As his old friends had begun to disperse, Bam had lost no time in replacing them and even going so far as to let them move in to Raab and Dico's old friends. She could tell that this pissed Ryan off, but they both knew that they wouldn't have to endure it for any longer. Rose was pretty sure that Bam would be happy to see the back of her anyway. Not only was she a reminder of Amelia, but as long as she was living in his house she would not let him forget what he had done.

Ryan decided to approach Bam several days before they moved in. If Bam wanted to get pissy about the situation, Ryan knew that they could go and stay with Rake and Dico for a couple of days, and at least that way they were giving Bam fair warning, unlike Dico who had literally just upped sticks and left. Ryan stood outside for a quick smoke before talking to Bam. He wasn't nervous but he didn't feel particularly great about leaving his friend. Yes Bam was an utter asshole and he had turned into a pretty unlikeable person, but he was still Ryan's best friend and deep down, Ryan was worried about him.

As it turned out, Ryan didn't have to search for Bam as he joined him on the decking. Ryan watched quietly as Bam dug around in his pockets for his cigarettes. They hadn't spoken much since Amelia had turned up in West Chester, but this was mainly due to the fact that Bam had gone on a bender and Ryan had been busy sorting out the house. Ryan could see Bam getting frustrated so he threw his own pack of cigarettes towards his friend who caught them and smiled gratefully.

"Cheer's dude."

Ryan simply nodded his acknowledgement and continued to stare out across the garden, rehearsing in his head what he was going to say. It was ridiculous how things had changed so much between them. It would have been easy to blame it all on Bam's relationship with Amelia, but it was far more complicated than that. Truth be told, things hadn't been the same since Bam had gone AWOL when Amelia was pregnant. Ryan still wondered if he'd cheated on her. Generally the unspoken rule between Bam and Ryan had always been 'bros before hoes', as evidenced with Bam's disastrous relationship with Jenn, but with Amelia it was different. She had always been one of them rather than just Bam's girlfriend.

After a few minutes of awkward silence between the two men, Bam spoke up. "So err...you coming to The Note tonight?" he asked, glancing at Ryan in between drags of his cigarette.

"Sure."Ryan shrugged. There was no point in being unfriendly about this. "There's something I need to talk to you about dude." Bam looked at Ryan expectantly and he took a deep breath. "I'm moving in with Rose at the end of the week."

Ryan paused and waited for Bam's reaction before continuing. "You are?" Bam looked mildly curious and beckoned for Ryan to carry on. Ryan proceeded to explain his plans to Bam, whose expression was unreadable. Ryan was unsure whether or not this was a good thing.

"I kind of feel bad about leaving dude, but Rose and I really want to make a go of things and..." Ryan looked at the ground and wished it would swallow him up. He felt horrible for having to do this to Bam.

Bam held his hand up to stop Ryan. "There's no need to explain yourself Ry. I get it." Bam stubbed his cigarette out on the wall and flicked it into the nearby bin.

Ryan stared at Bam cautiously. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not." Bam smiled. "It's not like I'm forcing you to stay here. I'm used to people leaving by now." The lack of colour in his eyes betrayed his calm and confident exterior.

Ryan continued to look at Bam for a few minutes, until he had convinced himself that Bam did not have a problem with him moving out. "Well, I guess that's all I had to say." Ryan shrugged. "I'll see you at The Note later then?"

Bam nodded and watched as his friend departed. He sighed quietly and sat down on one of the garden chairs, resting his legs lazily on the table and studying his shoes. After digging around in his pockets for a little while he eventually found the uncooperative pack of cigarettes and shoved one between his lips. As he lit the cigarette and inhaled a deep breath of nicotine he realised that he felt empty. As much as he had tried to hide it, Ryan leaving really did bother him. Bam had always assumed that out of his friends, Ryan would always be the one to stand by him, right until the very end. Well, that assumption had well and truly been destroyed but he could hardly blame Ryan. Bam had succeeded in alienating all of his closest friends and now all he was left with was a horrible, empty feeling in his chest. The emptiness had appeared the first time that Amelia had left and had been evolving ever since; growing stronger each time someone else abandoned him. Eventually he would have nothing left.

"It's my own stupid fault." Bam muttered to himself and pulled off his beanie hat to run a hand through his overgrown curly locks. He needed to do something about his hair and himself in general. April had been right when she had accused him of letting himself go. Bam stared out across the garden and tried to ignore the nagging sensation in the back of his head. He wasn't sure what it was nagging him about but he did not like it. Bam hated being in his own company for too long as he tended to dwell on what a bad person he was. Perhaps that was why he moved from relationship to relationship so fast, and it also explained why he surrounded himself by so many people. He needed the constant attention and reassurance that he was really as great guy.

The truth was he wasn't a great guy at all. He was a repulsive individual with no morals whatsoever and he deserved no sympathy. He had effectively destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to him; his relationship with Amelia; and he had no idea how it had even happened. Now he was trying to gain sole custody of Brandon and he couldn't reasonably explain why. Whatever was going on between Amelia and Johnny pissed him off, but it certainly did not justify trying to take her son away from her. He was expecting to hear from Amelia's solicitor any day now with regards to the custody case. Bam knew full well that she would appeal against it and he could easily withdraw his application, settling instead for an out of court arrangement. That way, perhaps there could be a future for Jackass. However, now that he had set the wheels in motion he could not back down. After all, Bam Margera always did whatever the fuck he wanted, right?


	14. Sisterly Love

"I really don't want to make a big deal about it." Amelia repeated for the third time as she looked up at Laura and Johnny. They had invaded her office that morning and were bombarding her with questions about her upcoming birthday. She would be turning twenty five in less than two weeks, but with everything that had been going on at the moment her birthday had been at the back of her mind.

"Oh come on Amelia, it's your quarter of a century birthday!" Laura laughed. "We've all been there." Johnny who was perched on the edge of the desk nodded in agreement.

Amelia folded her arms and realised she was fighting a losing battle. "I see I don't have a choice in the matter do I?" She looked from Johnny to Laura, who both shook their heads enthusiastically.

"We'll keep it low key." Laura promised her, pulling out a note pad from her bag. "We'll hire out a bar and have a guest list of just one hundred people or so."

"One hundred?" Amelia gasped at stared at Laura. "I don't even know one hundred people, never mind wanting to spend my birthday with them. Who exactly are you planning on inviting?"

"I'm sure we can come up with some names." Laura looked at Johnny for his approval. Johnny shrugged casually and winked at Amelia.

"Help me out here Jeff!" Amelia shouted when she saw her friend walking past the office door. "I'm outnumbered."

Jeff poked his head around the door and studied the scene in amusement. "Don't worry Amelia. I'll reign them in if needs be."

"Don't you have work to be doing?" She looked at Johnny who shrugged again. "And don't you have a wedding to plan?" Amelia pointed at Laura. All she had heard Laura talk about for the past month or so was the wedding and now all of a sudden she was in party planning mode.

"I've been reigned in." She explained and grinned at Jeff mischievously. "He thinks I'm getting too carried away and that I need something else to focus on. So..." She beamed at Amelia before turning on her heel to follow her husband out of the office.

Once Laura and Jeff had disappeared, Johnny swung himself over to the other side of the desk so that he was directly in front of Amelia. "Don't worry about this party thing. I promise it will be small. We could just have it at my house if you'd like?" Amelia nodded gratefully and allowed Johnny to pull her up from the chair and into his arms. "I just want you to have some time to let your hair down and have a bit of fun." He nuzzled his head into her hair.

"Thank you Johnny." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I have to admit it will be nice to be able to take my mind off January."

"And you don't need to plan a thing." Johnny smiled, pulling back slightly to look Amelia in the eye. "Between the two of us, I'm sure that Jeff and I can keep Laura under supervision."

Amelia laughed and kissed his cheek. "Well I'd better get back to work or Dimitry will be on my case."

"Where is Dimitry?" Johnny asked, looking at his watch. It was well past nine in the morning. "Or is that a stupid question. I swear he's actually the invisible man."

As if by magic Dimitry appeared out of nowhere with a cup of coffee and a dramatic look on his face. "Amelia! How could you!" he feigned a look of horror at the sight of Amelia and Johnny locked in an embrace. "I thought I was the only man for you!"

Amelia laughed. Dimitry was one of the guys who definitely knew about the relationship between her and Johnny. After all, it was difficult to keep anything a secret when working in such close proximity with these guys. Due to sharing the office between the three of them, Rick also knew, but she wasn't sure who else had found out.

"So that's what you two get up to when I'm not around?" Johnny joked, pretending to push Amelia away in disgust.

"Calm down boys." Amelia laughed. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to share?"

"Ew." Dimitry teased and dumped his camera bag in the corner of the room before sitting down. "Knoxville, I'm stealing your girlfriend for the rest of the day. We have some pick up shots to film down town and I figured we could stop by Wee Man's for lunch."

"That sounds great." Amelia smiled, untangling herself from Johnny. "Give me two minutes and I'll be ready to go."

"Man I wish I could tag along. You camera guys have all the fun. Jeff's got me doing paperwork." Johnny sulked and sat down in Amelia's chair.

"Jeff and paperwork. What's not to love about that?" Dimitry teased, taking the final gulp of his coffee before tossing it into the bin.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun." Amelia smiled, pulling her jacket on and picking up her bag before pecking Johnny on the cheek. "See you later."

In the end, Johnny and Jeff had managed to convince Laura that the best location for Amelia's party would be Johnny's house. They had invited twenty or so of Amelia's closest friends, including Ryan and Rose who were flying over from West Chester. Pontius, Steve, Wee Man, Dimitry, Spike and their respective partners to name but a few would also be attending and Johnny's daughter Madison had been invited as well. Amelia had not seen her since she and Johnny had returned from England and she was looking forward to spending time with her again. As an extra treat, Amelia, Rose, Laura and Madison had planned to go shopping on the morning of the party. Amelia and Johnny had picked Ryan and Rose up from the airport the day before and due to the lack of space in Amelia's apartment, they were staying at Johnny's house for the duration of their visit. Amelia could still not believe that her little sister was all grown up and living in West Chester of all places, but she was glad that she was happy. Amelia had decided to stay at her own apartment other than the night of the party as she didn't want people to think she and Johnny were rushing into anything.

When Amelia arrived at Johnny's that morning she introduced Rose to Laura and Madison before saying goodbye to the boys, who had been left with the task of keeping Brandon entertained. "Try not to make too much mess." Laura grinned, hugging Jeff.

"Try not to spend too much." Jeff joked as the couple's said their goodbyes for the morning.

"So are you and my dad together now?" Madison grinned from the front passenger seat as soon as Amelia pulled off from Johnny's drive way.

"I like your style." Laura leaned forward and patted Madison's shoulder. "Quick and to the point."

Madison laughed. "Sorry but no one tells me anything." She sighed dramatically and continued to look pointedly at Amelia for an answer. "So...?"

There was no point trying to fool Madison, after all she would see the two of them together tonight and she had seen them together at New Year. As Amelia recalled she had even seen them in the same bed. She was fourteen years old; she was neither nor stupid or naive.

"Ok. Yes we're together." Amelia laughed and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Thank God for that." Madison smiled and sat back in her seat contentedly. "Mom and I were hoping so." Amelia blushed.

"Your mom?" Laura asked curiously, leaning forward again.

"Yeah. She still worries about him now that they're divorced. She doesn't want him to be alone I guess." Madison shrugged. "And we both really like you Amelia."

"Well thanks." Amelia smiled. Despite having only met Mel once, Amelia thought she seemed like a nice woman and Johnny was fortunate to have such a good relationship with his ex wife.

"So how are things going between you and Johnny?" Rose asked as the four females wandered down the high street. Laura and Madison were up ahead talking about the wedding.

"Great." Amelia smiled at her sister.

"Just great?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want me to say?" Amelia laughed. "We're taking things slow. I'm learning from my mistakes."

"Hey, is that supposed to be a dig at me for moving in with Ryan?" Rose teased.

"Of course not." Amelia nudged her sister playfully. "I'm just...we're just taking things slow. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment again, not when I'm trying to get a divorce and everything." She trailed off.

"Well I don't blame you for being apprehensive about starting a new relationship but don't you trust Johnny?" Rose looked at her sister.

"Of course I trust him. I just don't want to ruin what we have by rushing into anything."

Rose nodded understandingly. "But you've slept with him right?"

"Could you say that any louder?" Amelia shook her head incredulously at the audacity of her sister, especially when Johnny's daughter was only just out of earshot.

"I'm sorry." Rose teased as they hurried to keep up with the women in front. "You know what a nosey cow I am Amelia and I didn't have chance to ask when you were in West Chester because the guys were with us. Anyway Johnny seems completely smitten with you."

"Why? Have you been talking to him?" Amelia narrowed her eyes at her sister as they followed Laura and Madison into a clothes shop.

"I'm staying at his house; of course I've spoken to him. Now relax would you, we need to find super sexy outfits for your party." Rose smiled and took Amelia by the arm.

After a mammoth shopping trip the girls piled back in to Amelia's car and headed back to Johnny's house. Spending the day with three highly excitable females had resulted in Amelia really looking forward to the party and she was keen to start getting ready. She and Rose locked themselves away in one of Johnny's guest rooms to preen themselves.

"I can't believe we've never done this before." Rose laughed as she sat behind Amelia, curling her hair for her. Amelia was applying mascara.

"I know. I guess it's the age difference. We used to fight a lot, remember?" Amelia mused.

"Yeah, you pretty much hated me until you went to uni." Rose grinned. "And then you moved to the other side of the world to get away from me."

"I didn't hate you Rose. You were just a moody bitch." Amelia laughed.

"Less of the moody! I have curlers in my hand." Rose warned, waving the hot curling irons at her sister.

"Ok ok, we just didn't see eye to eye back then." Amelia conceded, applying the finishing touches to her makeup.

"You can say that again." Rose paused, putting the curlers down. "Do you remember the time I beat you up because I was trying to run away from home and you wouldn't give me the keys."

"Oh yes I remember." Amelia started giggling. "You climbed out of the living room window because all of the doors were locked."

"I went all the way to London and then changed my mind." Rose grinned and started curling Amelia's hair again.

"After smashing one of mum's antique vases." Amelia added. "She still hasn't forgiven you for that."

"God I really was a bitch wasn't I? I'm surprised you even talk to me after the things I used to say to you."

"You used to call me fat." Amelia laughed. "I hated you for that. I was really self conscious about my body."

Rose smiled apologetically at her sister. "Yeah well now you're skinnier than me so I'd say that's karma." Rose laughed, poking Amelia in the ribs. Amelia laughed and batted her hand away. "I'm glad we get on now Amelia. Just think, if we'd hated each other when we went to V Festival a few years ago I probably would never have met Ryan..."

"And now look at you. You're living in America." Amelia stood up after Rose had curled the last section of hair and applied copious amounts of hairspray. "I bet mum hates _me_ for that. It's my fault for letting the guys corrupt you."

"No, she loves you for that!" Rose corrected her. "You've always been her favourite."

"I'm not gonna argue with you on that one." Amelia laughed and swapped places with Rose so that she could curl her hair for her. "She probably wished we'd swapped and I'd moved back home."

Rose nodded and started applying foundation to her skin. "She really hoped it was going to be a permanent thing when you flew over in the summer. I think she was a tiny bit disappointed when brought Knoxville with you, but dad was literally over the moon. I don't know why but he really likes Johnny and that kind of made mum feel better about the situation."

Amelia laughed. "Well they're flying over for Christmas. Are you and Ryan gonna be here?"

"Ugh." Rose groaned at the idea of Christmas with their parents. "I suppose so."


	15. It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To

Around a half an hour later the girls had finished getting ready and they made their way downstairs where the guests had started to arrive. The others went into the living room while Amelia made her way into the kitchen where Johnny, Jeff and Spike were pouring drinks. The three mean simultaneously turned their heads and stared at her as she walked in.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She asked, putting a hand to her cheek. They shook their heads, seemingly mesmerised but Amelia paid no attention. "Spike!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to her friend as quickly as possible in her heels. "I've missed you."

"Melia, it's been too long!" Spike replied, wrapping his arms around her. "How have you been? How was England? Is Knoxville still stalking you?"

Amelia laughed. "I've been great, England was wonderful and yes unfortunately he's still stalking me." She smiled.

"I'll have words with him." Spike smiled and tapped his nose, ignoring the fact that Johnny was standing less than a metre away. "It really is great to see you Amelia. Oh, and happy birthday!" he passed a gift bag to her and hugged her once again.

Johnny tapped Spike on the shoulder. "Do you think I could have my girlfriend back for a minute?" he grinned.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Is that what you're calling her now? You know, they've locked people like you up before. I think we should have a chat later."

"I'll come and find you." Johnny nodded, patting his friend on the shoulder while Jeff looked on in amusement.

"My friends are weirdoes." He muttered, edging closer to Amelia.

"You're all weirdoes." She told him, pushing him away as he got closer.

"That hurts Amelia. You really cut me deep." Jeff pouted, pouring himself a large glass of wine and a smaller one for Laura, who Amelia imagined would not be impressed by the size difference.

"You'll get over it." She smiled and turned to Johnny. "Hey."

"Well hello there ma'am. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked, putting on a thick southern accent as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm looking for a gentleman to buy me a drink." She played along bringing her head up to his. "Do you know of any?" She whispered.

"No, but I'd be happy to oblige." He smiled, expertly passing her a huge bottle of Jack Daniels.

"My hero." She swooned, kissing him softly on the lips.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are?" Johnny asked, pulling away from Amelia and looking her up and down. Amelia blushed and straightened out her purple dress. "You look stunning."

"Thanks." She smiled, turning away to fix Johnny and herself a drink. "You're not looking too bad yourself."

"Thank you pretty lady." Johnny pretended to blush. "I guess we better go and supervise our guests. I think Pontius just arrived. I'll have to steal you later though." He smirked and kissed her fast and hard before leading the way out of the kitchen. Amelia hesitated and let him go ahead. She decided to open Spike's present while she was alone, just in case it was embarrassing. She wouldn't put anything past that man. His cute and innocent appearance was nothing more than a ruse to divert suspicion away from him. Spike, in fact, was often the lead instigator on set. Amelia gulped as she reached into the bag. To her surprise she pulled out a canvas. Printed on the canvas was a cast and crew photo that had been taken during the filming for Jackass 2. There was also a pair of tickets to Spike's latest film premiere and a video camera wrapped in a big red ribbon. Amelia smiled and tried not to shed a tear at the thoughtful gifts that Spike had given her. She hurried off to find and thanks him.

The party was in full swing and Amelia was feeling tipsy from the considerable amount of alcohol she had consumed. Brandon was safely tucked up in one of Johnny's guest rooms and now she could really let her hair down. Or at least she could have, if the email she had just received from Harry Clark was not playing on her mind. It had just been a quick, informal message to say that Bam was still going ahead with the case, which she had fully expected. However, she had been having such a good time that it had taken her completely unawares and now she was left with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Can I give you your present now?" Amelia felt Johnny walk up behind her and whisper into her ear.

"I guess that depends what it is." She forced herself to smile as she turned around to face him.

"Oh I like your thinking." Johnny grinned mischievously. "But you'll have to wait until our guests have gone for that part of your present." Amelia laughed slightly and hit Johnny on the arm. "Ok, ok, seriously." Johnny regained composure and handed her a small brown envelope.

"What is it?" she asked, looking at him wide eyed.

"The idea is, you open it and find out." Johnny grinned, looking at her expectantly, causing Amelia to blush a little at her own stupidity as she opened the envelope carefully. Inside the envelope were two plane tickets to the Maldives for the New Year.

"Oh Johnny, you shouldn't have!" Amelia gasped in surprise

"I have a friend who owns a villa over there. I figured we were due sometime to ourselves." Johnny smiled.

Amelia was stunned. She had always wanted to visit the Maldives and Johnny was right, it would be nice to spend some quality time alone. Even in England they hadn't been alone, especially as most nights Johnny had slept in the guest room due to Amelia only having a single bed. The chance to be alone would be most welcome, if only it wasn't so close to the court date, Amelia thought. She was struggling to enjoy her own birthday party months before the date so how was she going to be able to take her mind off it less than a month before?

Amelia did not voice her concerns to Johnny. How could she when he had presented her with such a wonderful gift? Instead, she thanked him profusely and tried to hide any trace of doubt in her voice. The last thing she wanted was for Johnny to think she was being ungrateful so after a while she made her excuses and headed upstairs. What she needed was some time to clear her head and she found herself flopping down on one of Johnny's guest beds. As awful as she felt for hiding away upstairs when everyone was there for her, she couldn't face anyone at that moment, not even Johnny.

"Amelia? Is everything ok?" she heard Johnny ask and she looked up to see him standing in the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you."

"I'm fine." She smiled. "Sorry for making you worry. I just needed a few minutes." Amelia shrugged and stared into her wine glass. Johnny sat down on the bed beside her and gently slipped his arm around her waist. "But you should go back down and have fun." She told him.

Johnny shook his head. "It's not any fun without you." He replied, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's your big day after all. I know something's wrong. You want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Amelia shook her head and Johnny pulled back. "I don't want to ruin the evening. Please PJ, just go and enjoy the party. Someone needs to keep Pontius under control." She smiled weakly but her words had come out more forcefully than she had intended. "I'll be fine." She added.

Johnny was not convinced but he stood up and squeezed her shoulder before walking away. Once the door was closed Amelia sighed and flopped back down on the bed with her eyes closed. Immediately she felt guilty for telling him to leave and being ungrateful for all the effort he and Laura had put into tonight. She didn't want to be a spoil sport but she was finding it hard to relax and have fun when her future was hanging in the balance and as much as she loved the idea of going to the Maldives, she didn't know how she would be able to enjoy it with the custody case looming. She sighed out loud. She felt bad for pushing Johnny away but she wanted him to have a good time tonight. He had gone above and beyond anything she could have expected and he deserved to have some fun.

"Amelia? Can I come in?" She heard Laura's voice outside the door.

"Sure." She replied feebly, not bothering to get up.

"Is everything ok hun?" Laura asked as she approached the bed. "PJ thinks you're mad at him."

"I'm not mad at him." Amelia sighed. "I just needed some space."

Laura took a seat on the end of the bed. "It is kind of crazy down there. Pontius is in full party boy mode. I think Claire's at her wits' end"

Amelia smiled slightly at the thought of Chris driving his girlfriend insane in his little thong and bow tie. "Guess I've had a lucky escape up here."

"Yeah, but you're missing your party. Everyone's here for you, you know."

"I'm sorry Laura. I'm a horrible friend. You've gone to so much effort."

"Don't be silly. I'm just worried about you. We're worried about you, especially PJ. I know you've got a lot on your mind but you don't have to keep it all locked up. That's what I'm here for. You know you can talk to me about anything right? Even if you feel you can't talk to Johnny..." Laura rubbed Amelia's back.

"Thanks Laura. I'm sorry for shutting you out. I guess I just didn't want to bother you with my problems. You've got so much going on, what with the wedding..." Amelia sat up and tried to flatten her hair.

"Don't be silly Meels." Laura interrupted her and smoothed her hair down at the back. "You're my best friend and that's more important than choosing what flowers I'm going to have." Laura smiled and squeezed Amelia's hand. "Now are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Amelia smiled weakly and filled Laura in on Harry's email. "It's silly really. I didn't expect him to drop it so easily but now that I know it's going all the way to court I can't stop worrying about it."

Laura put an arm around Amelia and hugged her tight. "You know you should have just told us right? Stop worrying about everyone else and just think of yourself for a change."

Amelia nodded and bit her lip. "Does Johnny really think I'm pissed at him?"

"Well he did present you with that gift and then you disappeared up here. He thinks you don't want to go with him. I think you should go and talk to him, but not before I've got some more wine down you." Laura produced a wine bottle seemingly out of thin air and proceeded to fill up Amelia's half empty glass on the bedside table. "Now drink." She commanded.

Amelia laughed and took the glass off Laura, while her friend set about restoring her hair to an acceptable state. "Thank you Laura." Amelia smiled after taking a large sip of wine and allowing Laura to wipe away the smudging of mascara from underneath her eyes.

"There you go Cinderella. Now go and find your Prince Charming!"

Amelia made her way through the crowd of people in the living room and she found Johnny outside on the decking having a cigarette. She moved so softly that he did not hear her come up behind him and it wasn't until he felt her hot breath on the back of his neck that he realised he was not alone. Instantly he whipped around to see Amelia standing there, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry for pushing you away PJ. Harry emailed to say that Bam's not dropping the case and it's been playing on my mind." She sighed, feeling stupid and pathetic. "I didn't want to ruin your night with my worrying but I guess I just made everything worse."

Johnny cut her off by standing up and swiftly taking her in his arms. "I'm so sorry for making you think I was mad at you or that I didn't like your gift." She continued, mumbling into Johnny's shoulder as he held her close to his body. "I love it."

"Shush its ok." Johnny whispered, stroking her hair. "You don't have to apologise for a single thing. I was just worried about you. You know you could never ruin my night. So promise not to keep everything bottled up in future?"

"I promise." Amelia replied, pulling away slightly so that she could stand on her tiptoes and lean forward to kiss him. Johnny leant down to return the kiss and pulled her even closer to him, his hands working their way up and down Amelia's back, causing goose bumps to rise on her skin. She brought her arms up around his neck, forcing him to kiss her harder and she nibbled his lip. Before either of them had a chance to make their next move they were suddenly interrupted by a naked figure streaking past them and diving off the decking into the swimming pool.

Johnny and Amelia pulled apart and made their way to the edge of the pool to see who it was, not that it took much guessing. Pontius was floating on his back, completely naked with an insane grin across his face. "Steve dared me!" He yelled up at them, offering an explanation.

"I think I need another drink after that sight." Johnny shuddered and Amelia followed close behind him as he made his way back into the house. She in turn was followed by a dripping wet and still naked Pontius who was shortly tackled by Jeff and Spike, who were brandishing a towel.

"Thank God for that." Claire sighed in relief as her boyfriend was brought to the floor by the two men. "Will you put him to bed as well?" she pleaded, but Jeff shook his head.

"Oh no. That's your job." Jeff laughed and pushed the Pontius bundle in Claire's arms.

"Aren't you glad that I'm not like that?" Johnny grinned as he and Amelia watched the scene from the safety of the living room sofa.

"Oh I don't know, you have your moments." Amelia teased, elbowing him gently in the ribs and taking the bottle of Jack Daniels from him.

"Ouch! Hey, when was the last time I was that drunk?" Johnny asked, folding his arms over his chest protectively.

"Well in all fairness I haven't seen you like that in a while." Amelia conceded, taking a swig from the bottle. "But I've seen you like that plenty of times in the past."

Johnny shuddered as he remembered at least one of the times she was referring to. It had occurred during the filming of Jackass 2 and he had joined Steve-O on one of his drinking benders. Normally Johnny would know when to call it a night but for some inexplicable reason he had decided to carry in partying with Steve and Pontius into the early hours of the morning and Amelia had discovered him wandering around the hotel in his underwear looking for his room. As she loved to remind him she had practically carried him to his room, where he wouldn't let her leave until he had fallen asleep. In retrospect he knew exactly why he had gone on the bender. Amelia and Bam had been arguing that day and now Johnny could explain his volatile emotions.

"You were so cute that night." Amelia mused and Johnny realised that they had been thinking about the same night. "I had to tuck you in to bed and stroke your hair while you fell asleep."

"Cute?" Johnny raised his eyebrows as he reclaimed the Jack Daniels . "Not sexy or irresistible?"

"Not when you were drooling slightly and you'd already thrown up in the bathroom." She reminded him with a smirk.

"Aren't you a lucky woman?" He teased, throwing his arms around Amelia and licking her face.

"It's not too late for me to take you back to the store you know." She groaned, wiping his slobber from her cheek.


	16. Not Just Another Day at the Office

With only two months to go until Laura and Jeff's big day, life in the Dickhouse offices seemed even stranger and more hectic than ever. Jeff was immersing himself in work so that he could avoid being coerced into last minute wedding planning with Laura and just to frustrate his fiancée even further he had made sure her accomplice Amelia would not be free either. Jeff had tied himself up so much with other projects that he had started passing the directorial work on new projects over to Dimitry. However, with the director of cinematography now in the director's chair, Jeff had to find a replacement for Dimitry. He had always had Amelia lined up for the position eventually, but after the recommendation from Dimitry and Rick, Jeff decided to give Amelia her first big break that very morning.

After dropping Brandon off at the child minders that morning, Amelia made her way to work. It was an exceptionally warm October day. As she felt the wind blow through her hair she felt calm and happier than she had in a while. She had managed to push thoughts of Bam even further to the back of her mind since her birthday and she was ready to concentrating on enjoying life to the full.

"Hey Amelia." Jeff pounced on her the minute she walked into the building. "Can you come with me? I need to talk to you about something."

Amelia hesitated and scanned Jeff's face for any clue as to what was going on. It was too early in the morning for surprises and she had not had her coffee yet. "Sure. Should I be worried?"

Rather than answer her, Jeff simply laughed Amelia's question off, which did not exactly ease her mind. She followed him into the office he shared with Johnny and was surprised to see Dimitry, Rick, Steve and Johnny waiting for her. "Hey." She smiled at the boys uneasily. "Is this an intervention or something?" She glanced at Johnny, wondering why he had not filled her in on whatever was happening.

Steve laughed the loudest of them all. "It depends which way you look at it." He grinned.

Warily, Amelia took a seat on the sofa between Rick and Dimitry. "So what's going on?" She asked, glancing around at the men.

"We have a proposition for you Amelia." Jeff grinned, sitting down at his desk and folding his arms in a business-like manner.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that." She frowned, earning laughs from the others.

"Hear me out." Jeff continued, still grinning at her expression. "We've got a project coming up and after careful consideration we'd like you as the director of cinematography."

Amelia found herself speechless as she stared at Jeff in disbelief. "Really?" She looked around the room at her friends. "Why?"

"You're the best woman for the job, and you were personally requested by the star of the project." Jeff explained casually.

"Who?" Amelia asked in confusion as Steve stood up at took a bow.

"MTV have commissioned a documentary about Steve's recovery." Johnny smiled, walking behind Amelia and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"And I said to Jeff I'd only do it if you were behind the camera." Steve grinned, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Me?" Amelia repeated in disbelief. "You want me to shoot it?" She stared, dumbstruck at Jeff. Despite the camera work she had done for Jackass Number Two and the various other Dickhouse projects, she had never had such an important position.

"Of course." Johnny squeezed her shoulder. "Why wouldn't we?"

Amelia turned to look at him. "But I haven't done anything serious like this before." Bam's show had not been exactly high brow and most of her filming had been heavily edited by Bam and the network in postproduction.

"Well now's your chance." Jeff smiled. "And if you pull it off then Dimitry might find himself facing some competition."

"What's not to love about that?" Dimitry laughed and high fived Amelia. "There's nothing like a bit of healthy rivalry."

"So who am I going to be working with?" Amelia asked, returning to look at Jeff. "Remember I've still not agreed to this." As much as she was excited by the prospect of this responsibility she wasn't sure if she could handle any more stress at the moment.

"Dimitry will be directing and Lance is going to help you with the interviews." Jeff told her. "It's a pretty simple pitch, mostly interviews and old footage." He handed her a folder that contained all the preproduction notes. "We've set up all the times for interviews. All you need to do is pick your location and film."

"So you've got plenty of opportunity to add your own artistic vision." Johnny added with a big grin on his face.

"Ok, so what's the catch?" she narrowed her eyes at Jeff who was smirking.

"The filming starts tomorrow."

The next morning Amelia stopped by the office to meet Dimitry and Lance before they went off to film their first interview with Steve. She didn't like the idea of relying on a babysitter constantly so she was leaving Brandon with Johnny for the day and she made her way into his office where he was already waiting for them. "Hey there buddy." He grinned at Brandon. "Are you ready to have fun?" Brandon laughed away happily as Amelia placed him on the sofa.

"Thanks for looking after him today." Amelia smiled as she approached Johnny at his desk. "He's so excited to be spending the day with you." Brandon was positively shaking with excitement about seeing Johnny, it was heart warming.

"You know I'll have him any time." He told her. "So how are you today?"

"PJ I'm scared." She admitted. "What if I mess this up?"

"You have nothing to worry about." Johnny told her, pulling her into his lap and smiling confidently. "You'll be fine. You've filmed millions of times before and this time it will be easier. Just you let me know if those boys are mean to you. I'll sort them out."

Amelia laughed. "Promise?"

"Scout's honour." He grinned, saluting her. She leant over and kissed his stubbly jaw before they were interrupted, as usual, by Dimitry.

"Hey little dude." Dimitry greeted Brandon, kneeling down to high five the toddler. "Are you coming with us today? That would be fun wouldn't it?"

"You say that now, but I guarantee that after half an hour you'd be begging for me to take him home." Amelia laughed.

"Ah your mom's a spoil sport." Dimitry shook his head as Lance entered the room. "You ready to go Amelia?"

Amelia nodded and after kissing Brandon and Johnny goodbye she grabbed her coat and followed the two men out of the building.

Dimitry, Lance and Amelia pulled up outside Steve's apartment and found him already waiting for them, accompanied by a woman.

"Hey guys." Steve grinned, enveloping Amelia in a huge hug. "It's so cool that you're doing this. I prefer you lot to Jeff." He added in a whisper, as if afraid that Jeff might somehow be listening.

"Doesn't everyone?" Dimitry laughed, patting Steve on the back.

"Even Jeff." Steve laughed. "Oh, I want you to meet my friend Josie." he gestured to the woman standing next to him.

"Hi." Josie smiled at Amelia and Dimitry. She was several inches taller than Amelia with striking shoulder length blue hair. "It's nice to meet you. Steve's told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Amelia smiled and gave Steve a pointed look, wondering why he had not mentioned Josie before.

"Josie's here for moral support, just in case you ask me too many personal questions and I have a breakdown." Steve joked, in response to Amelia's look. "Nah, we met in the sober living complex." He explained and Amelia thought she could detect a hint of something different in his voice, but what exactly, she was not sure.

"I'm an alcoholic." Josie added, showing no trace of awkwardness or embarrassment. "I just thought I'd put it out there. Steve and I have quite a lot in common."

Steve looked proudly at Josie before turning to Amelia, Dimitry and Lance. "So let's get this show on the road. Where do you want to shoot?"

Dimitry looked at Amelia and she remembered that this was her call. She fumbled for her notes and smiled nervously. "Well I was thinking we could do some bits down on the beach and then some at the skate park?" She suggested, looking at both Dimitry and Steve for approval. They both nodded enthusiastically.

After spending the morning and most of the afternoon shooting, Dimitry decided to call it a day. Despite Steve's attempts so lighten the mood, listening to him talk about his drink and drug problems had been harrowing and emotionally draining for everyone concerned and there would only be more of that to come tomorrow.


	17. Boys Will Be Boys

"So how's Amelia doing with the documentary?" Spike asked Jeff as the three men found a table at the back of the bar. It had been three weeks since Jeff had given Amelia the project and it was nearly finished.

"Oh Dimitry says she's doing great." Jeff grinned before taking a large swig of beer. "It's not like she's doing anything new but I think she's enjoying the creative freedom."

"Maybe if there is a third film we'll have to get her in the first unit." Spike smiled. Jeff, Spike and Johnny had decided to indulge in a boy's night out, while Laura finished off the wedding arrangements. With the multiple Dickhouse projects and Spike's new film shoot commencing, this was probably the last chance they would have to relax before Jeff's stag night next month.

"What do you think the chances are that there will be another film?" Johnny grimaced, remembering his conversation with Bam back in West Chester. Jeff and Spike turned to stare at him. "Ok, ok. There's no need to give me that look." He put his hands up in defence, knowing exactly what his friends were thinking. The chances of there being another film very much depended on whether or not Johnny was able to salvage his friendship with Bam and at that moment in time it did not seem very likely.

"Sorry dude. It's not your fault." Jeff patted Johnny on the back. "It's just...you know the score."

Johnny nodded and rubbed his head. "Has he let you know about the wedding?" Johnny knew that Jeff and Laura had invited Bam to their wedding but whether or not Bam would actually attend was another matter.

"Well I've not heard anything yet. April said she would speak to him about it. She and Phil are flying over with Ryan and Rose." Jeff explained.

Johnny nodded. "If he does show up maybe I should try speaking to him again." He hated the fact that he and Bam were no longer on speaking terms. No matter what he felt about the way Bam had treated Amelia, it could not change nearly ten years of friendship.

"Just make sure you're both sober." Spike laughed. "The last thing you want is a wedding brawl."

Johnny frowned at the thought. Spike was right. He didn't want to spoil Jeff's big day. "Yeah, on second thoughts, maybe I should leave it."

"There'll be plenty of time to talk to him after Christmas. I've arranged for Bam and his manager to come over to LA for a meeting." Jeff shrugged. "It'll give us a proper chance to try to convince him to come back."

"Enough about that." Spike waved his hands dramatically. "How are things with you and Amelia? You guys seem to be all over the celebrity news at the moment." He laughed. Both he and Jeff knew how much Amelia hated to be in the lime light. It had surprised Spike that Amelia had been so open about her relationship with Johnny. While their friend didn't have a problem with it, everyone was aware that it didn't make either party look particularly good.

"Ahh they'll get bored of us eventually." Johnny shrugged. Since their return to LA at the end of the summer Johnny and Amelia could not seem to step foot outside without their photo being snapped. It had bothered Amelia at first but she was beginning to get used to it. Johnny had put the interest down to the release of his film, along with the fact that Amelia was still married to his Jackass co star. He couldn't really blame the press for having a field day. "Everything's good with us though. We're taking it nice and slow. I just feel sorry for Amelia getting all of this unwanted attention. She's got enough on her plate what with Bam and everything." It was a wonder Amelia was able to keep it together as much as she had. The documentary had proved a welcome distraction.

"Have you heard anything more from Bam's lawyer?" Jeff asked, finishing his beer and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"Not a thing." Johnny sighed, lighting up a cigarette and ignoring the raised eyebrows of his friends. As far as they were concerned he was still supposed to be quitting. "She's still waiting to hear about the divorce. I can see Bam being a dick about it." If Johnny knew Bam, which he did, very well, Bam would do everything in his power to make the divorce as difficult as possible for Amelia. Johnny on the other hand, had suffered the misery of going through a divorce himself, but at least he and Mel had been amiable about it. Johnny had been the first to admit that the breakdown of their marriage was entirely his fault. Mel had hated the fact that he acted more like a child than their infant daughter, and rather than change to appease her, in retaliation Johnny had gone out of his way to be as immature as possible. He supposed that he should have acted far more grown up for a man, indeed a father, in his late twenties, but since when did Johnny listen to anybody?

"Well maybe if we can talk Bam into the third movie we can also talk him into dropping the case." Spike wondered, interrupting Johnny's thoughts. It was a long shot but it was worth a chance.

"We can only hope." Johnny rubbed his stubble and exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "We can only hope."

"Another round?" Jeff suggested, gesturing at their empty glasses. Spike and Johnny nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile in Westchester, April Margera was stomping around her son's house in annoyance. To say the place was a tip would be an understatement. She was used to tidying up after the boys, but this was not the aftermath of a food fight or extravagant party. This was weeks' worth of dirty dishes, clothes strewn across the floor and general mess. To April Margera this was unacceptable. Bam was nearly thirty years old and he knew perfectly well how to look himself, he was just choosing not to and it made April furious.

"Brandon Cole Margera, get your lazy ass out of bed." She screamed from outside his bedroom door. In the past she would have barged right in but now she was afraid of what she might stumble upon. She banged on the door several times before standing back to wait with her arms folded. She had had just about enough of having to babysit her son. Sure, he had been a tearaway but she had hope that by now he would have managed to grow up just a little bit. She'd had no problem with his older brother.

A minute went by before she hammered on the door again, yelling his name. While raising her voice had not roused her son, it seemed to have awoken the rest of the house and she turned around to find herself face to face with a half naked Novak. "Oh Brandon, put some clothes on would you!" she exclaimed, shielding her eyes.

"What's up Ape?" Novak asked, rubbing his eyes. It seemed he had not fully woken up yet. "What time is it?"

"It's six o' clock in the evening." She trilled in disbelief. "What did you do last night?"

"Shit." Novak laughed hoarsely. "I don't remember." He picked a discarded t-shirt up from the floor and without a second thought as to who it belonged to; he pulled it over his head.

"Have you been taking drugs?" April narrowed her eyes and looked her son's friend up and down. She hated to drag up the past but something in the back of her mind raised suspicious and no matter how many times Bam told her that Novak had changed, she still couldn't quite bring herself to believe him.

Novak looked at her sincerely and put a hand over his heart. "No Ape, I swear."

April continued to stare at him in an attempt to figure out if he was telling the truth. He looked honest enough she decided. "I'm sorry Brandon. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I'm just worried about Bam." She sighed and ran a hand through her greying hair. "I've never seen this place in such a state."

"Want me to go wake him up?" Novak offered, gesturing to the bedroom door.

"Please." April smiled hesitantly, wishing Phil was here with her, but he had had to work.

Novak side stepped April and tried the handle of Bam's door. It was unlocked so without warning he pushed the door fully open. "Yo dude. Are you awake or what?" He shouted over to the lump in the bed covers, which he assumed to be Bam's body. He walked closer until he was sure that Bam was alone. "Get up dude. April's here and she's not happy."

This seemed to stir Bam and April peered around the door frame to see Bam move under the covers. "Is he alone?" she asked warily.

Novak nodded and proceeded to shake Bam. "Get the fuck up Bam." He groaned. Where was an air horn when you needed one?

Bam mumbled something incomprehensible, but he sounded angry.

"Thanks Brandon. I can take it from here." April patted Novak on the shoulder and walked over to Bam's bed. Novak shrugged and loped out of the room.

"Bam, if you don't get up this minute I'm going to give Vito the keys to the Lambo." She crossed her arms and confidently counted to three in her head. This threat did the trick and before she reached three Bam had bolted out of bed.

"What the fuck Ape?" He demanded, staggering to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and it looked as if he had not slept for days. His overgrown hair was greasy and his face was covered in spots. He was still dressed in his clothes from the night before. "What's your problem?"

"My problem Brandon, is you. What are you playing at? This house is disgusting. You look disgusting. When was the last time you washed?"

"Leave me alone would you." Bam sulked, his face resembling that of a petulant teenager, complete with acne. When he decided his car was safe, he dropped back down on to the bed.

"I will not leave you alone Bam. I'm your mother and I am not going to let you do this to yourself." The sight of her son in this state made her want to cry.

"What exactly am I doing to myself?" Bam raised his eyebrow and stared his mother straight in the eye.

"You're punishing yourself for what you did to Amelia." She told him, sitting down beside him on the edge of the bed and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What I did to Amelia?" Bam looked at April in disbelief. "Don't you mean what she did to me? Leaving me for my best friend."

"Oh Bam don't be so childish. You know as well as anyone that you pushed her straight into Johnny's arms. You just can't seem to accept the fact that it's you who's in the wrong." April sighed. She didn't blame Amelia one bit for finding comfort in Johnny, but that didn't stop her from objecting to the endless photos of them together in magazines. No wonder Bam was feeling resentful.

"If you're just here to moan at me then forget it. I'm not listening." Bam frowned, folding his arms and turned away from his mother.

"I only popped round to make sure that you're coming to Jeff's wedding, but never did I expect to find the place in such a state. You need to get help Bam." April held onto his arm tightly.

"Help?" Bam shook his head and laughed, ignoring April's comment about the wedding. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm being deathly serious Bam. You need to cut down on the drinking or you'll be digging yourself an early grave. I do not want to watch my youngest son turn into an alcoholic."

"I'm not an alcoholic!" Bam protested angrily. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why did April have to be so interfering?

"Not yet." April retorted, sternly. "Phil and I are moving in with you until you've sorted yourself out. I suggest you help me clean the house; otherwise I'm just going to throw things out or give them to charity. And no I am not joking."

Bam started to object but realised that resistance was futile. He may as well just let April get on with it and go along with the situation. At the best he would get a clean house and meals cooked for him; at the very worst he would have to be careful about drinking in front of her.


	18. That's What Friends Are For

"So, Josie huh?" Amelia nudged Steve and took a bite of pizza. They were sitting on Steve's couch with Brandon in between them, watching cartoons. They had been scheduled to spend the morning filming picks up for the documentary, but following an unexpected thunderstorm they had decided to reschedule the shoot and Amelia and Steve had opted to share a sofa day and order pizza. The cancelled shoot also gave Amelia the chance to spend more time with Brandon and he was thoroughly happy tucking into his cheese and tomato pizza, although Steve seemed to be enjoying the cartoons more than the two year old.

"What about her?" Steve feigned curiosity. Oh how the tables had turned, Amelia smirked to herself.

"She seems nice." Amelia smiled suggestively and took another bite of pizza. She was enjoying the opportunity to play Steve at his own game.

"Yeah, she is." Steve nodded, not taking his eyes away from the television and stuffing vegetarian pizza into his mouth at an alarming pace. Perhaps he was trying to avoid the line of questioning, Amelia thought to herself slyly.

"So...Are you seeing her again?" Amelia prompted, wiping tomato sauce from Brandon's chin. Over the past three weeks of filming, Josie had been present every day, under the pretence of 'moral support', but Amelia's female intuition told her that there was definitely something between Steve and Josie, even if they had not realised it themselves.

"What do you mean?" Steve glanced at Amelia and raised an eyebrow. He was a good actor but Amelia was better. She knew all the tricks in the book.

"Don't play coy with me Steve. You know exactly what I'm getting at." She grinned, absent-mindedly passing Brandon his juice carton.

"Fine." Steve sighed, his resolve collapsing far sooner than Amelia had expected. He stared at Amelia accusingly. "You're just too good." He shrugged.

"Thank you." Amelia smiled proudly. "I've learnt from the best. Now spill."

"Well. I really like her and I was thinking of asking her to be my date for Jeff's wedding." Steve admitted, examining his nails quite shyly. Amelia had never seen this side of him before and she found it adorable.

"Does she know you like her?" She asked. Amelia had never been one to interfere in other people's love lives, that had always been Rose's area of expertise, but sometimes Amelia thought her friends needed a little gentle persuasion.

"I don't know. We kind of almost kissed the other day." He smiled shyly and gobbled down another slice of pizza, chasing it down with a long swig of diet coke.

Amelia beamed. She was so happy for him. After everything that he had been through Steve deserved some happiness. "That's great. Like I said, she seems really nice."

Steve grinned. "I'm glad you like her. You seem to be a good judge of people Amelia."

"Really?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, well maybe not so much in the past..." Steve trailed off, realising his mistake. "But then again you always see the good in people. That's a gift. "

"It's not necessarily a good thing..." She thought bitterly of her husband. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered looking so hard to find the good in Bam and instead taken him for what he was right from the start, a spoilt and selfish little boy.

"You saw the good in me." Steve reminded her with a smile playing on his lips. "Not many other people gave me the chance that you did. I know Jeff and Knoxville hated me."

"They didn't hate you." Amelia assured him. "They were just worried about you. And it wasn't hard for me to see the good in you." She patted his arm. "You're a good person Steve. You just made a few mistakes. We all do."

"Some more than others." He shrugged. "But hey, let the past be the past right?"

Amelia nodded. If only it was as easy as that. She finished her last slice of pizza before getting up to find her pack of baby wipes. Brandon had managed to cover his hands and face in sauce.

"I could use one of those." Steve laughed, waving his sticky fingers at Amelia and grinning. Brandon giggled and copied Steve, putting his own dirty hands in the air. Amelia shook her head in amusement and passed Steve a wipe.

"There you go. I'm sure you can clean yourself up right?"

"Yes mom." Steve teased as Amelia wiped the muck from her son's hands and face.

Once Brandon and Steve were both cleaned up, Amelia returned to her seat took a sip of coke. "So do you think you and Josie might get together?" She inquired, pulling Brandon into her lap for a cuddle.

"I really don't know. I don't exactly have a great track record with relationships." Steve shrugged. "But Josie is definitely different from anyone I've been with. She's on my wave length you know. She gets me."

Amelia smiled. "Well what are you waiting for? Go over and tell her exactly how you feel." She urged.

"Really?" Steve looked at Amelia with uncertainty.

"Really." She repeated. "Look at me and Johnny. You don't want to make the mistakes we did. If we had just told one another how we felt from the beginning, life would have been a whole lot easier."

"That's true." Steve laughed. "You frustrated the fuck out of me, you know that?"

Amelia laughed. "Like I said, don't make the same mistakes. If you like her let her know. You've got nothing to lose."

"You know you could just stay in bed instead of going out with Laura." A husky voice whispered into Amelia's ear.

Amelia sighed gently, resting her head on Johnny's shoulder. "I'm not just 'going out with Laura'."She reminded him. "I've got get fitted for my bridesmaid dress."

Johnny pouted. It was a Saturday and raining, making it the perfect time to stay in bed all day. He knew that Amelia had plans, but it didn't stop him from wishing they could remain snuggled up in his king size bed for the next twelve hours.

"Don't pout." Amelia laughed, prodding his chest. "You've got Brandon to keep you company."

"Yes. And he agrees with me that today is a perfect day for cuddles, not shopping." Johnny informed her, keeping his arms locked tightly around her waist. He was not going to give up easily.

"Well that's lucky. You can cuddle each other." Amelia smiled, half heartedly attempting to wriggle free of Johnny's grip. In all honestly she would rather be staying in bed with her two favourite boys. The thought of dress shopping reminded her of her own wedding. Something she was trying to forget.

"You'll be missing out on some serious snuggles." Johnny warned her, attempting to pull a serious face.

"I'm sure I will." She nodded. "I guess I'll just have to make up for it when I get back."

This seemed to satisfy Johnny and he let go of her waist. "Promise?"

"I promise." She laughed and rolled out of his arms. "I would say that I won't be long, but you know what Laura's like."

Johnny groaned, realising that Amelia would probably be gone for most of the day if Laura had anything to do with it. Amelia laughed at his reaction and climbed over so that she was straddling him. "You're evil." He observed. Amelia looked at him questioningly.

"You can't do this to me and just up and leave to spend the day shopping." He gestured at Amelia's naked body sitting on top of his. "It's just evil."

Amelia grinned. "I'm sure you'll get over it." And with that she got off him and made her way to the bathroom, leaving Johnny to close his eyes and exhale in frustration. She knew exactly how to drive him crazy.

Amelia arrived at Jeff and Laura's perfectly on time, despite Johnny's numerous attempts to seduce her that morning. Granted she had given in eventually, but Amelia prided herself on being punctual so she had left him in bed wanting more.

"Hey. You all ready to go?" Amelia greeted Laura as she opened the door.

"Sure, come in for a sec, I just need to grab my bag." Laura smiled and hugged her friend. "Make yourself at home. Jeff's not in as usual."

Amelia followed Laura into the house and took a seat on the sofa. She was not at all surprised to find that Jeff was in the office and she couldn't blame him. The living room was full of wedding magazines, spare invitations and flower samples. The place resembled some kind of wedding related nightmare.

"You didn't have to dress up for the occasion." Laura noted in sarcasm as she looked Amelia up and down. In an attempt to avoid unwanted recognition while they were shopping, Amelia had opted to wear her oversized university hoody, an old pair of leggings and her converse.

"I don't want to draw attention to myself." Amelia shrugged, making Laura laugh.

"That bad huh?"

"They'll probably ignore me if Johnny's not around. It's not like I'm a celebrity or anything. But I didn't want to take any chances. I'm sick of seeing my mug in the magazines." Amelia explained.

"Makes sense." Laura grinned. "Anyway, if you get any hassle, Claire and I have it covered. We'll be like your very own bodyguards." Laura put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest in what Amelia assumed to be an attempt to appear intimidating.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Amelia laughed as Laura left the room.

"Good. Now, are you excited?" Laura grinned, instantly reappearing with her oversized leather hand bag.

"Sure." Amelia smiled as convincingly as she could. Laura had found her own dress months ago but Amelia had managed to put off the bridesmaid dress shopping until as late as possible. While she was honoured that Laura had asked her to be a bridesmaid she dreaded the thought of trying on dress after dress. It was just too painful a reminder of her own wedding. Laura on the other hand seemed overly excited at the prospect of finding dresses for her two bridesmaids and Amelia knew it was going to be a long day. A few minutes later they climbed into Laura's car and set off to pick up Chris's girlfriend Claire who was going to be Laura's other bridesmaid, before making their way into town.


	19. Is Anyone There?

After several hours and more dresses than she cared to count, Amelia was on her way back to Johnny's. Laura had settled on matching floor-length halter neck gowns in a beautiful burgundy colour for her bridesmaids to wear. Amelia had to admit that she really like Laura's choice. The dresses were stunning and matched the Christmas theme. It was hard to believe that after all the months of planning it was only a few weeks until the wedding. Amelia was going to have a very busy Christmas this year, which she hoped would take her mind off the events of the year before. The ceremony itself was set to take place on December 21st, while Amelia's parents were flying over on the 24th. They were going to be staying at Johnny's for a week, and then Amelia and Johnny would be off on their holiday. Amelia couldn't believe it had nearly been a whole year since she had left Bam. It seemed like only five minutes ago that she had turned up on Johnny's doorstep and had been welcomed into his home by Madison.

"Hey babe. Are you ok?" Johnny peered in through the car window.

His words snapped Amelia from her thoughts and she realised she was outside Johnny's house already and had been sitting in the car with the engine still running, preoccupied by her memories. "Oh yeah I'm fine thanks, I was just...daydreaming." She laughed as she switched off the engine.

"Are you sure?"Johnny continued to stare at her while he stepped back so she could open the door. "You've been sat their quite a while."

"I was just thinking about how fast this year's gone." She told him, climbing out of the car. "I got caught up remembering how I just turned up here out of the blue."

"That was a nice surprise." Johnny smiled and led her to the house. "You're welcome to turn up out of the blue whenever you feel like it."

"Well I might just have to take you up on that." Amelia winked as they made their way inside.

"I hope you do. Now about those cuddles..."

_Amelia opened her eyes but she was met with nothing but darkness. The ground felt damp and as she blindly took a step forwards her foot splashed into a puddle. She reached an arm out to her side and her hand touched cold brickwork. She took another careful step and her hand continued to brush against the brick. The same happened with her other arm, leading her to believe that she was in some kind of corridor. Not daring to proceed any further in the dark, she rubbed her eyes, hoping she would be able to see something. The darkness was unnerving and she could feel an icy breeze coming towards her. Eventually a tiny spark of light appeared in the distance, giving the impression that the corridor must continue far along._

_"Hello." She called. "Is anyone there?"_

_There was no reply. She turned around to see where she had come from, not that she could remember how she had ended up in this darkness in the first place. The corridor behind her was still bathed in darkness so she decided that her best option was to head towards the light. She picked up a quick pace and as she got closer to the source of light her surroundings became illuminated. She was indeed in a long corridor and there were pools of water on the floor. From the looks of the brickwork she appeared to be in an old building, and as she continued towards her destination she noticed what appeared to be boarded up rooms. Perhaps this was an old abandoned school or hospital, still that did not explain what she was doing here. _

_The loneliness was overwhelming and she wondered where Johnny was. She could usually rely on him to be close at hand. "Johnny?" She called, tentatively. Once again there was no reply. She briefly wondered if this was some elaborate prank pulled on her by the guys at work. If so it was not funny and she wanted out._

_"Ok, very funny guys you got me. How did you do it? Did you spike my drink or something? I'll get you back for this!" She shouted, trying to sound confident but she wasn't at all convinced that this was an office prank. It was far too advanced for the likes of Knoxville and Tremaine. It reminded her more of something from the horror films she was so fond of watching and this thought sent a shiver down her spine. Perhaps they were picking up on her weakness._

_She didn't have much choice but to continue in the direction of the light and as she got closer she noticed that it appeared to be the moonlight flooding in through a high window at the end of the corridor. She could see that the corridor veered off to the left and she hoped that by following it she would find the exit. She quickened her pace, not wanting to spend any more time in this creepy place than was necessary. If it was a prank, Jeff and co could be certain that there would be payback; that was for sure. She could just picture them rolling with laughter as they watched her on the portable screen. Well, she would have her revenge._

_She reached the end of the corridor and turned left. The building now appeared familiar to her and it filled her stomach with dread. It was the university building where she had studied for her degree in film production. How the hell had she ended up here? She could not remember being on a flight. She bit her lips and carried on walking, thoroughly confused and scared. The moonlight was still illuminating the corridor and she found herself in the hallway that lead to the atrium of the building, where a stair case joined the five floors. She was about to start running to the stairs when the sound of a child crying startled her. She was a mother and she knew the sound of her child's cry._

_"Brandon!" she exclaimed and ran in the direction of the crying as fast as her legs could carry her. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were stinging as she made her way to the other side of the room. The thought of her baby being in danger made her feel physically sick._

_She spotted a dark shape at the back of the room and she instantly recognised it as the silhouette of her son. As she hurried towards him, Brandon stopped crying and she noticed another figuring lying on the floor beside him. She could not make out who the body belonged to from her current position but she did notice the abundance of empty beer and vodka bottles scattered around the room. Nothing made any sense but without hesitation she scooped the toddler up into her arms and started to comfort him. Although he seemed shaken, Brandon was physically fine, and she hugged him tightly afraid that he might disappear if she let go. The figure on the floor appeared lifeless and apprehensively she bent down to get a closer look. _

_"Hello? Are you ok?"She called to the figure. No response._

_She put a hand on their body and it felt horribly cold and lifeless. She tried to gently shake the person but their body was stiff and rigid. Her stomach churned and she felt dread wash over her. Was this person dead? She pulled the figure's hood away and jumped back in horror. The pale face and sunken eyes were almost unrecognisable but there was still no mistaking the body lying before her and she turned to vomit. It was Bam._

"Amelia!"

Amelia's eyes flickered open. She was vaguely aware of someone shouting her name.

"Amelia!"

There it was again. The voice sounded familiar and she willed it to bring her out of this dark place.

"Amelia, wake up!"

She felt somebody grab her by the shoulders and physically shake her. All of a sudden she was sitting up in bed, drenched in sweat and shaking. She blinked several times and found herself face to face with a very worried looking Johnny.

"Where's Brandon?" she demanded instinctively, not convinced of whether or not she had just been dreaming. She was sure that the last thing she remembered was holding him in her arms.

"He's asleep in the next room." Johnny told her. "You were just having a nightmare." He reassured her. "Everything's fine."

Amelia looked round the brightly lit room, taking in her surroundings. They were in Johnny's bedroom, much to her confusion. It had seemed so much more real than a nightmare and Amelia realised that tears were now streaming down her face. Johnny pulled her into his arms. "It's ok Amelia. I'm here." He rocked her gently as she started to sob. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Amelia nodded and Johnny released his grip on her. "I was lost in the dark." She stammered. "And then I heard Brandon crying and..."

"And what?" Johnny asked gently, pushing her hair out of her face. Her skin felt cold and clammy. It must have been a really bad nightmare, he thought worriedly.

"And then I can't remember." She lied, unable to look Johnny in the eye. She really didn't want to talk about what she had seen. She couldn't explain it and didn't want to try. Johnny wiped a stray tear from her cheek and Amelia tried to calm her breathing, telling herself over and over again that it had all just been a bad dream. A very bad dream.

"Have some water." Johnny suggested, passing her a glass from the bedside table.

"Thanks." She croaked, sipping it slowly. Although she had not actually been sick, her stomach felt delicate and she was still shaking. She was grateful for Johnny's comforting presence, and as his hand stroked her back she began to feel herself relax. Nightmares were common after all, especially as a result of stress, and Amelia had had plenty of that lately.

"Did I wake you up?" She turned to look at Johnny apologetically.

Johnny bit his lip and nodded slightly. "You were rolling around and crying. I thought you were having some kind of seizure."

"I'm sorry." Amelia mumbled, looking down at the glass in her hands. "I don't know what happened to me."

Johnny put a hand on her bare shoulder. "There's no need to apologise. I'm glad I was here to wake you up." He smiled reassuringly.

"So am I." Amelia agreed. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if Johnny hadn't been there to wake her from the dream. "What time is it?" She wondered.

"A little after four." Johnny told her. "You want to watch a film or something?"

"That would be nice." Amelia nodded, taking another sip of water. There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep now.

"Ok, but first things first, you're freezing. Put this on." Johnny requested, passing her his hoody.

"Yes boss." Amelia smiled timidly, pulling the hoody over her head. It drowned her tiny frame but she felt safe, surrounded by Johnny's scent.

"Now are you ok? Can you walk? Do you want me to carry you?" He teased, making her laugh and taking her mind off the dream ever so slightly. She truly appreciated Johnny's ability to make her feel better, no matter what the situation.

"I think I can manage, thanks PJ." She patted his arm and pushed herself up. Her legs felt a little wobbly but Johnny gave her his arm to steady herself.

"I don't know about that. I think I should carry you." He looked her up and down, and before she had chance to protest he had swept her up in his arms and was making his way out of the room with her.

Johnny carried Amelia downstairs into the living room and proceeded to set up the sofa with blankets and cushions so that they could make themselves comfortable. He even filled the table with sugary snacks and fizzy drinks to help them stay awake. Amelia smiled at him as he took a seat beside her with a can of coke and turned on the TV.

"What do you want to watch?"

"When Harry Met Sally?" Amelia suggested, knowing full well that Johnny had a soft spot for chick flicks.

"If anyone in the office asks why we're so tired tomorrow, we were up all night having sex, ok? I have to maintain my macho image." Johnny grinned, stuffing a donut into his mouth.

"Whatever you say, stud." Amelia laughed and snuggled up to Johnny as he wrapped his arm around her.


	20. A Parent's Work Is Never Done

It had been two weeks since April and Phil had moved back to Castle Bam and finally the building was beginning to resemble a place where people could live in comfort and cleanliness. That wasn't to say that it hadn't been hard work. April had spent every waking moment attempting to restore her son's house to a state of normality and she had started by throwing out all of his friends, bar Novak. She had reasoned that Bam needed some form of company, and she was worried what would happen to Novak without a roof over his head. The others, she did not particularly care for. She missed Dico, Raab, Rake and Dunn, and she made sure that Bam knew this.

This particular morning Bam was sat on the sofa next to Phil with his arms folded in disapproval. The two men were watching as April walked back and forth with a dust cloth in her hand, periodically exclaiming about the state of the house. Despite the numerous times she had cleaned the rooms, she was still not satisfied. Apparently the dictatorship she was holding over the place was not enough, and April's power trip was driving Bam crazy. He had continued to protest against his mother treating him like he was a kid, but April's response was always the same. If he didn't want to be treated like a child he should stop acting like one. Bam couldn't imagine any child spending their days drinking and smoking, but he decided not to voice this opinion.

"I cannot believe how filthy this place still is!" April sighed, throwing her cloth down in defeat. "What were you doing before we got here?"

Bam had finally lost patience and stood up purposefully. He had had enough.

"Where do you think you're going?" April demanded, staring daggers at her son.

"Away from you, crazy woman." He shook his head and left the room, leaving April and Phil to stare after him. If he didn't get a fix of nicotine soon he would surely lose his mind. He had already lost the will to live, that was for sure.

April had successfully managed to purge the house of alcohol and cigarettes but Novak had been providing Bam a steady supply of both when April was not looking. When he was confident that his mother was not following him, Bam pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter as he made his way across the castle grounds. He could not smoke the cigarette fast enough and as the nicotine filled his lungs he exhaled a huge sigh of relief. It was good to get away from April, as much as he loved her. He knew it would have made more sense just to move out while she did what she needed to do with the house, but he just could not bring himself to leave. Not only would it seem pathetic that his own mother had driven him out of his house, but the castle held so many memories for Bam, memories that he was not quite ready to let go of, nor abandon for any amount of time.

It hadn't taken April long to notice that Bam had still kept Amelia's possessions and that their photograph still held pride of place on the bedside table, but she had known better than to mention this to Bam. There was obviously some part of Bam, no matter how deep down, which still harboured feelings for his wife. After all, April failed to see how you could just suddenly stop loving somebody. She had seen with her own eyes the way that Bam used to look at Amelia. There was no use in him trying to deny his feelings.

"Do you think I should go after him?" April asked Phil, still staring in the direction that Bam had gone.

Phil shook his head. "You've come on a bit heavy with the house. He just needs his own space you know."

April bit her lip, knowing that her husband was right, but that didn't necessarily make her feel any better about the situation. She was a mother. It was in her nature to worry about her children and she had always worried more about Bam.

Phil watched April's face crease with lines of worry. He hated to see his wife under so much stress. He too was worried about Bam's behaviour but by nature Phil was a very relaxed and easy going person. He knew that Bam was strong and eventually he would be able to overcome whatever problems he had. Still, whatever Phil thought, it wouldn't ease April's mind.

"Would you like me to go and talk to him?" Phil suggested as April took a seat beside him on the sofa.

April's eyes lit up. Unlike Phil, she rarely thought twice about interfering but at this moment in time she reasoned that she was probably the last person that Bam wanted to talk to. This did not make her feel bad about taking her son's life in the slightest. She just knew that she needed to hold back a little.

"Would you?" She turned to look at her husband hopefully. "I think it would really help. He won't speak to me. He thinks I'm a 'crazy woman'".

Phil nodded, deciding not to tell April that Bam had been right. She had gone a little bit crazy, but that was one of the reasons why he loved her so much. "I'll see what I can do." He told her, pulling himself up from the sofa and on to his feet.

Phil had a pretty good idea where he could find his son. Bam thought he could pull the wool over his parent's eyes when it came to drinking and smoking, but while April might be naive, Phil certainly wasn't. He made his way to the back garden and spotted a familiar looking silhouette at the edge of the border. A smiled played across his lips as Phil remembered his younger years. He and Vito had not been exactly innocent themselves. Despite the fact that he was not in great shape, Phil eventually managed to catch up with Bam, and was relieved that Bam did not take off when he spotted his father making his way over.

"Thanks for not running off. I'm not in quite as good shape as you." Phil remarked, ignoring the cigarette resting between Bam's lips.

Bam shrugged, not quite sure of what his father expected him to say. He wasn't so immature that he would run away from Phil, but had it been April he may have thought twice. Bam took the cigarette from between his lips but there was no point wasting it so he continued to smoke. After all, Phil had already seen it so the damage had been done.

"Are you not going to call me out on this?" Bam questioned his father, motioning to the cigarette.

It was Phil's turn to shrug. "What's the use? You're a grown man and you're perfectly entitled to smoke if you want to."

Bam's eyes widened slightly but then he asked himself what he had really expected Phil to say. The only time he had ever seen his father get angry was when he put fireworks in the back of his van during the filming for Jackass. "I wish Ape felt the same." Bam grimaced.

"You know she's only worried about you right?" Phil patted Bam on the shoulder. "You can't blame her for trying to be over protective."

Bam sighed. "I can't take this madness any longer. I'm not a fucking child. I don't need to be babysat. Can you get her to move back out?"

Phil thought about Bam's request. He knew there was no way April would leave unless she thought that Bam was perfectly capable of taking care of himself again. There must be some way for the two of them to come to an agreement. "I can talk to her." Phil nodded. "But what good that'll do I don't know. You know she never listens to me."

Bam nodded. "She never listens to anyone."

"Doesn't that remind you of someone?" Phil's eyes sparkled and a smile threatened to form.

Bam raised an eyebrow when he realised who Phil was referring to. "Oh come on, I am nothing like her!" he exclaimed, dropping his cigarette and putting it out with his foot.

Phil could not contain his laughter. "You are exactly the same. Just admit it."

"Never." Bam folded his arms defiantly but he couldn't stop his lips from twitching. He knew that Phil was right. Bam was equally as pig-headed and self righteous as April and nothing would ever change that.

Phil smiled and handed Bam a packet of gum. "That's exactly what I mean." He laughed and squeezed his son's shoulder affectionately.

"Thanks." Bam acknowledged, popping a piece of gum into his mouth to take away the taste of the cigarette.

"What do you say we head back to house and order takeout? I'm starved." Phil suggested, rubbing his stomach for effect.

"You're always starved." Bam shook his head and laughed. "But no thanks fat boy. I'm staying well clear of the she-demon in there." Bam gestured to the house.

"Suit yourself. I was going to make you a deal to get rid of the she-demon...oh shit, don't tell your mother I called her that!" Phil put a hand to his mouth in surprise.

Bam laughed but Phil had caught his attention with mention of a deal. "What deal are we talking about here Phil?"

"Oh you probably wouldn't be interested. I mean, you said you'd had it with the guys in LA didn't you? And it would probably be for the best if you just stayed here." Phil shrugged. He had always prided himself on his ability to play devil's advocate.

Bam folded his arms and stared at his father. "Just spit it out Phil. What are you getting at?" His parents knew full well how he felt when it came to Tremaine, Knoxville and the rest of those jackasses. He had not yet recovered from the betrayal he believed to have suffered and he was quite happy to remain in West Chester, licking his wounds.

"Well you know your mother and I are flying out to LA next week for Jeff's wedding." Phil watched his son carefully for any sign of a reaction. "I know you tore up the invitation but Jeff really wants you to be there, and April was really hoping that you would come along too. Jess is going to be there and so is Ryan. It would be nice to have everyone together again wouldn't it? And then when we get back, I will make sure April leaves you alone. Hell, I'll carry her out of here myself if I have to. So, what do you think?"

Bam continued to stare at his father with his arms folded. "So you're saying that if I come to the wedding, you'll make sure April moves out?" Bam was sceptical to say the least and the thought of seeing all of those faces again made his stomach churn.

"Exactly. You have my word." Phil smiled gently, waiting for an answer. He and April had already spoken briefly about getting Bam to go to LA. They were perfectly aware that he didn't want to see Johnny and Amelia, but there was no reason why he should lose touch with Jeff and the others. Any betrayal he imagined to have suffered was exactly that; his imagination. They knew that Jeff had attempted to convince him that there was no 'taking sides' but after all, Bam never listened to anyone.

Bam exhaled loudly. Going back to LA was the last thing he wanted to do. Going back to LA for Jeff Tremaine's wedding would be even worse. Jeff and Knoxville were bosom buddies and he was confident that Knoxville would not think twice about flaunting Amelia in front of everyone. Still, Phil could have asked a lot more of Bam. He could have asked him to drop the custody case.

Very little had been said regarding that since April had initially found out that he had filed for sole custody of Brandon. Bam assumed that she was trying not to add fuel to his fire in the hope that he would eventually drop it. The truth be told, Bam was not sure why he was still going with it. After all, he had never wanted to be a father in the first place, and his brief attempt to be a father to Brandon before Amelia had left had not exactly proved to be very successful. Amelia had been right when she had told him that no judge in their right mind would award Bam custody. He knew it was pointless and that deep down the only reason he had not dropped the case was because he wanted to keep fighting Amelia. This was the same reason why he had not signed the divorce papers that he had been served with months ago. By fighting Amelia he was still holding on to a tiny part of her and he could not find it within himself to let go.

"So are you going to go to LA?" Phil asked, awakening Bam from his daydream.

"I guess I don't have much choice do I?"


	21. Hens and Stags

Jeff and Laura's wedding had finally arrived. In less than twenty four hours they would officially be Mr and Mrs Tremaine, but this evening they would be celebrating their last night of freedom with their respective group of friends. Amelia couldn't help but think that partying the night before the ceremony was not the greatest idea. She knew just how crazy things got when the Jackass guys were in town, but they had promised to be on their best behaviour. After all, the last thing Jeff wanted to do was to get on the wrong side of Laura on their big day. She was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry.

The wedding guests were staying in the same luxurious hotel in Hollywood that would be host to Jeff and Laura's nuptials. Some of the guys, Pontius in particular, had been drinking all day and were raring to go, so Amelia and Johnny said their goodbyes before parting ways for the night. Johnny went to join the guys in the bar while Amelia made her way into Laura's hotel room, where she, Claire and Rose were already indulging in a bottle of wine. They had only planned on having a quiet night in a couple of bars, but Amelia had the feeling that it would not go quite so smoothly. At least she didn't have to worry about Brandon. April and Phil, who had flown over for the wedding, were babysitting for the night. They were thrilled to be spending some quality time with their grandson and Amelia felt guilty that they had not had chance to see him more.

Amelia sat down beside her sister and smiled. She was determined that she was going to enjoy herself. Her own bachelorette party had been a fun night, despite everything that happened afterwards

"Come on then ladies; let's get this hen-do started!" Rose exclaimed, now that Amelia had joined them.

"Hen-do?" Laura and Claire looked at Rose in confusion.

"She means the bachelorette party." Amelia laughed, "We call it a 'hen-do' in England. And the guys have a stag-do" She explained. Amelia had only just started to get use to the minor cultural differences herself.

"You guys are weird." Laura joked, emptying her wine glass and slipping on her heels. "Ok, I'm ready!"

Johnny found Jeff and the others sat around the hotel bar, looking smart. Everyone had scrubbed up pretty nicely for the occasion, he thought. He was glad he had put the effort in and worn a tie. He scanned the crowd and noticed that almost everyone was here. It had been a long time since everyone had been reunited in this way and it was good to see all of the familiar faces. Steve was standing off to the side with a blue haired woman that Johnny assumed must be Josie. It wasn't good for Steve to be in an environment where everyone was drinking and getting rowdy, but he had promised Jeff he would make an appearance for a little while. There was only one face notably missing, but the less said about the better, he thought.

Jeff noticed that Johnny had arrived and beckoned him over. "What took you so long dude?" he joked, patting his friend on the back. "Have a drink." Jeff thrust a glass of Jack Daniels in Johnny's direction. Johnny had no choice but to oblige the groom, and graciously tipped the smooth bourbon down his throat, enjoying the burn. It was going to be a long night.

"Good turn out." Johnny observed as he and Jeff stood back to take in the crowd of people swarming around the bar.

Jeff nodded. "You know what those guys are like though. They never turn down a chance to get wasted and cause a scene."

Johnny ran a hand through his hair. "That's for sure."

"Listen, before we head out into town I need a word." Jeff lowered his voice and turned around so that their backs were to the others.

Johnny frowned. This sounded serious. Jeff was not supposed to be serious on his bachelor party. "What's up?"

"Bam's here." Jeff said quietly, making sure that only Johnny could hear him.

Johnny raised his eyes in surprise and made to double check the crowd. He was sure he would have noticed if Bam was there.

"No." Jeff grabbed Johnny's arm to turn him back around. "He's not here as in the bar, he's in the hotel though."

"Really?" Johnny was unable to contain his surprise. He had thought for sure that Bam would be giving the wedding a miss. "What made him change his mind?"

"No idea, probably April's bitching." Jeff shrugged his shoulders and finished his drink.

"Have you spoken to him?" Johnny looked at Jeff, still reeling from this surprise.

"Yeah. I went up to his room earlier." Jeff explained. "He seemed fine, like he didn't have a problem with me at all. But you know what Bam's mood swings are like."

Johnny nodded, feeling very much like he needed another drink. "Is he coming along tonight?"

"No. I did try to persuade him but he said he was feeling pretty jet lagged so he was going to stay in."

"Fair enough." Johnny reasoned. "I guess I should let Amelia know." He went to pull his phone from his pocket but Jeff stopped him.

"I don't think you should be so hasty PJ." Jeff said, keeping his hand on Johnny's arm to stop him from getting his phone. "Right now, what Amelia doesn't know won't hurt her. Don't you think it would be better to let her enjoy her night?"

Johnny had to hand it to him, Jeff was right. It wasn't as if there was anything he or Amelia could do. Bam was here and as much as Amelia might not like it, it was a good thing. Friendships needed to be repaired, after all. They would just have to deal with the fall out some other time.

Johnny removed his hand from his pocket and loosened the tension in his shoulders. "Yeah, you're right." He agreed, and Jeff visibly breathed a sigh of relief. If Amelia knew that Bam was here it would no doubt affect Laura's bachelorette party and that was the last thing he wanted. "Does Laura know?"

"No. Like I said, what they don't know won't hurt them. What I really wanted to talk to you about was tomorrow. After the ceremony everyone's going to be drinking, dancing and letting their hair down. I feel bad for even saying this but I've got to think about Laura..." Jeff hesitated, looking at the floor.

"Just spit it out Jeff." Johnny urged his friend. He had a feeling he knew where Jeff was going with this.

"Ok. I just wanted to ask you to take it easy with the booze. I'm not telling you not to drink and not to have a good time, but let's face it PJ, we all know what you can be like after you've had one too many and if Bam starts anything, I don't want you to be the one to finish it."

Johnny looked long and hard at Jeff and he couldn't think of anything to say. Jeff was right. Johnny had a tendency to take things far too personally when he had a drink, and if Bam said anything about he or Amelia, he would be liable to fly off the wall. He couldn't argue with Jeff for asking him to take it easy.

"I've got it dude." He patted Jeff on the shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll be the bigger man. I know when to walk away."

Jeff nodded, although something told Johnny that he did not seem entirely convinced.

Bam lay back on his hotel bed and let out a breath of smoke before stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray. He knew that he should have gone out with Jeff and the others, but he just did not feel ready for it. Talking to Jeff earlier that evening had been enough progress for the time being. Bam had been surprised how easy it had been to talk to his old friend, but Jeff was only one person. He was sure that trying to fall back into some kind of relationship with all of the others would not be such plain sailing. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to. At the end of the day, he was only here to get his mother off his back and out of his house. That was, if Phil held up to his side of the bargain.

After a while Bam's mouth began to feel dry and he felt the familiar craving to knock back a bottle of beer. He glanced at the clock. It was ten pm. He wondered if Jeff and company had left the hotel bar yet. He needed to be sure the coast was clear but at the same time, his desire for alcohol was overwhelming so he decided to risk it. He pulled on his shoes and a jacket and made his way to the door. He knew that April would not be impressed if she found out that he was drinking but he did not let this bother him.

It wasn't as if he was an alcoholic. Plenty of men his age drank a lot, indeed just as much as Bam. He was still in his twenties and if he couldn't have a good time now, when could he? It wasn't like he couldn't survive without a drink, he would just rather have one that not. Trying to shake the feeling of guilt away he made his way to the elevator. He wished Novak was here, but he wasn't allowed to leave the state due to an outstanding warrant. Bam didn't have a problem drinking on his own but he preferred to have some company.

The elevator had almost arrived when suddenly Bam thought about asking Phil to have a drink with him. He knew that his father was not going out with the others tonight and he needed to keep Phil on his side if he was really going to get rid of April from the house. Bam had held up his side of the bargain and now Phil would have to do the same. Without a second thought he turned on his heel and set off towards his parents' room. Even if Phil didn't want to drink with him, at least he had made the effort, he reasoned.

Bam knocked hesitantly on the door to April and Phil's hotel room, seriously hoping that it would be Phil who answered rather than his mother. Perhaps this was a bad idea, he thought. April would be sure to have something to say about him drinking. Finally disregarding his doubts, he stood back and waited to see if his parents would answer. After a few moments the door swung open and Bam had no choice but to gasp in surprise. Smiling and giggling in April's arms was a very familiar looking little boy.

"Brandon."


	22. Daddy?

"Oh hi there Bam, we weren't expecting you." April smiled, over the top of her grandson's curly head. "Come on in." She stepped back to allow him room to enter.

"No it's ok. I can see you're busy." He replied, unable to take his eyes of the little boy in April's arms. "I'll just get going." He took a step backwards.

"No really Bam. Come in." April insisted. Her tone of voice was friendly but there was a spark in her eyes that told Bam he would be in trouble if he did not do as he was told. Brandon started giggling at the obvious look of despair on Bam's face. Bam wondered if his son could even remember him.

"OK." Bam reluctantly agreed. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do. He followed slowly behind April as she led him into the expansive suite, where Phil was sitting on their sofa, nearly dozing off in front of the television.

"I guess you didn't feel like partying tonight?" April raised an eyebrow as Bam took seat beside his father and sunk into the couch.

Bam simply shook his head, not particularly feeling in the mood to explain himself. He hoped that the evening was not going to continue with April's line of interrogation and intimidation. It was surely enough that he had made the effort to come this far.

"Well that's fine. As you can see we're looking after Brandon tonight." April smiled, but Bam thought he could detect a little uneasiness in his mother's demeanour. He put this down to the assumption that Amelia had trusted April with her son and she would not be impressed if she knew that Bam was here. Bam scratched the back of his neck nervously as he glanced at his son. He felt inexplicably anxious in the presence of the little boy.

"Are you sure you want me to stay?" Bam looked at his mother, hoping for a get out of jail free card. He should have known better.

"Of course." April smiled, seeming full of confidence once again. "In fact, would you mind keeping an eye on him for a moment?" She placed Brandon on Bam's lap before he had chance to reply and in the blink of an eye she had disappeared into the next room.

Bam turned to Phil for assistance, but he was now asleep, leaving Bam no choice but to deal with the situation. He returned his gaze anxiously to his son, who was staring back at Bam with the very same pair of bright blue eyes. Bam, for the first time in his life, felt awkward and did not know what to say. It had been nearly a year since he had seen Brandon and he felt very much like a random stranger to the little boy rather than his father. The same little boy he was filing for sole custody over.

He knew he was being a selfish idiot. Brandon would be far better off with his mother, but it was too late and the damage had been done. Bam needed to think of his image. He couldn't simply back down and let Amelia have an easy win. It would make him look like a fool. Well, that was not entirely true. He was perfectly capable of making himself look like a fool by himself, but still. Bam had principles and the most important principle was not to back down. Winning or losing the case did not matter so much to Bam. He knew he was going to lose but at least Amelia would suffer in the process.

"I'm such a jerk." Bam sighed to himself, not realising he had spoken the words out loud.

"Jerk." Brandon agreed and Bam could not help but break a smile. He was clearly a smart boy.

"You've got that right." Bam nodded, feeling a little more confident. "I bet you don't even remember me do you?" He wasn't sure how advanced his son was in terms of language and understanding. The last time he had seen him, Brandon had still been making baby noises.

Brandon looked at Bam questioningly. Did he understand? Should Bam attempt to make conversation with him? Hell, he had no idea how to talk to a two year old. His train of thought was obviously conveyed by his expressions and Brandon started giggling once again, reaching out to touch Bam's face. Bam remained very still and let Brandon have his way, poking his face and pulling his hair. It was quite funny, Bam thought. Although he had spent a fair amount of time with his son before Amelia had left, they had never really bonded. This was mainly due to the fact that Bam was too busy partying and making trouble to spend time with his kid. He suddenly started to feel a twinge of regret. That had to be a first for Bam.

Bam continued to gaze at his son and wondered bitterly if Knoxville had been filling in as his father figure. It wouldn't surprise him, he thought. Bam had never set out to be a rubbish father; it was more of a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy. His failure as a parent had never kept him awake at night, at least not until now. Now he was sitting face to face with his son, the one person who he was accountable to. Bam was in danger of sinking into dark thoughts when Brandon poked him in the eye.

"Ow!" Bam exclaimed in surprise and pain, jerking his head away from the toddler's exploring hand. Brandon burst out laughing at Bam's misfortune and tried to poke him again. It seemed the little boy had a penchant for seeing people in pain, how familiar Bam thought.

"You're trouble Brandon, do you know that? One day you're going to grow up and cause mayhem." Bam laughed in spite of himself and ruffled his son's hair. The toddler nodded in agreement and reached up to pull Bam's hair again. Bam conceded and put up with the pain as it seemed to keep Brandon amused. He wondered where April had got to. Phil was now fast asleep and softly snoring.

"Do you know who I am?" Bam asked when Brandon was seemingly done with inflicting the pain.

Brandon looked at him blankly. Perhaps he did not understand the question. Bam tried another tactic. He pointed to himself. "Who am I?"

Brandon maintained his blank expression.

"Who am I Brandon?" He asked again, staring in anticipation at his son. It was a long shot, but perhaps he did remember his father.

"Bam." Brandon repeated, looking at Bam curiously.

"What did you say?" Bam asked, realising that trying to hold a proper conversation with the little boy probably wasn't the best approach.

"Bam Bam." Brandon repeated, smiling.

Bam was speechless. How could he possibly know his name? Had Amelia been reminding the little boy of who is father was? Bam's brow furrowed in confusion. If this really was the case, then why? He was pretty sure she hated him right now, so why would she go to the effort of ensuring that their son knew who his father was?

Just in case it had been a fluke, Bam decided to try again. "Who am I?" He asked, pointing to himself.

"Daddy."

She had only had a few drinks, yet already Amelia was beginning to feel tipsy. Being out with the girls, especially Laura and Rose, was a bad influence on Amelia's usually quiet and reserved nature and she was always anxious that she would somehow make a fool of herself. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Come on Amelia, I'm sure you've done something really embarrassing when you've been drunk." Laura teased, knocking back another shot. Amelia hoped she had some miracle hangover cure for the next morning. The girls had been playing truth or dare, which had somehow evolved into simply telling each other secrets.

"I don't know." Amelia lied, hoping Rose would not drop her in it. To her dismay her sister was pulling a rather sceptical face. Amelia was definitely at a disadvantage having her little sister present. There was no room for denial.

"Do you want to tell them or shall I?" Rose grinned, with an evil glint in her eye. She loved every moment of the potential embarrassment of her older sister. It seemed not a lot had changed since their childhood.

"I don't want to tell anyone." Amelia shook her head in despair. She knew exactly what time Rose was thinking of and despite the fact that it had happened long ago, Amelia did not want to bring up the memory.

"Have it your way." Rose smirked, and started her story. "When Amelia was fifteen, she and some friends used to spend their weekends at the skate park drinking cheap cider. One night my dearest sister had a little too much cider and had to be carried home by two of her friends. They took her to the front door and knocked, hoping our mum would answer. Well, it turned out that they got the wrong house as Amelia was too out of it to tell, and our next door neighbour answered. I guess Amelia just couldn't hold back any longer, because apparently she threw up right there on the lady's feet." Rose sat back, grinning with pride at being able to humiliate her sister.

"Wow, I would never have guessed it." Claire remarked as everyone laughed.

"Thanks for that dearest sister." Amelia groaned, her cheeks now flushing scarlet.

"Any time." Rose winked, taking a celebratory sip of her cocktail.

"I think I need another drink after that." Amelia sighed and stood up to make her way over to the bar. They were in an expensive looking cocktail bar in town, complete with dance floor and poles. No doubt Rose would be showing off later if she was given half the chance, Amelia thought to herself as she waited to get served.

She knew she should try to slow down with the drinking, but she was having a good time and did not want to lose her buzz. The last thing she wanted was to be miserable tonight. She ordered another Jack and coke and quickly made her way outside for a cigarette. The other girls didn't smoke and she didn't want to drag them outside with her.

Amelia found an empty table on the terrace and pulled out her cigarettes and lighter. Inhaling the deep drag of nicotine seemed to take the edge of her nerves. Every now and then, images from her nightmare had been flashing into Amelia's head and consuming her with a feeling of nausea. The image that recurred the most was that of Bam's lifeless body and try as she might, she could not shake it away.

She knew it was stupid. She was bound to have heard if anything had happened to Bam, but at the pit of her stomach Amelia could not help but feel inexplicably worried about her husband. Ever since the dream she had considered making sure he was ok, purely for her own piece of mind, but she really didn't know how to go about it. She didn't want to speak to him, and she didn't want to pique the curiosity of April by asking after him.

Amelia felt her phone vibrate, distracting her from her thoughts. She pulled it out of her pocket to see that she had received a text from Johnny.

_Hi babe, just a quick text to say I love you. I'm a bit drunk but I can't stop thinking about you. PJ x _

Amelia smiled. She loved receiving cute texts like this off Johnny. She still hadn't told him about what she had seen in the dream. There was no sense in making a big deal about it but she did feel a little guilty. She did not like keeping anything from him and usually he could read her like a book. Amelia realised that she needed to put her concerns for Bam to rest, otherwise it was liable to stop her from enjoying the wedding. All she needed to do was hear his voice, just to make sure that he was fine. He didn't even need to know that it was she who was calling him. After all, she was confident he didn't have her new number.

Amelia took a large sip of her drink for courage and scrolled through her phonebook to find Bam's number, under the naive assumption that he had not changed it. She would have to make this quick before the others wondered where she was. She pressed the call button, while stubbing her cigarette out in the ash tray. Her heart was pounding in rhythm with the ringback tone and she started to regret this little endeavour. What was she really going to achieve? The nightmare had been exactly that, a nightmare. There was nothing wrong with Bam. She needed to look a little closer to home to find the source of the problem. She did not need a psychologist to tell her that she had some unresolved issues and feelings regarding her husband. Ringing him was not going to help matters, but Amelia found herself unable to stop the call.

Amelia's heart skipped a beat when the phone was answered and she had to take a deep breath to stop herself from making a noise.

"Hello?" There was no mistaking his voice and he sounded perfectly fine. "Hello? Who is this?"

Feeling both relieved and embarrassed Amelia quickly hung up. She realised she was acting like a stalker and she felt ashamed of herself. She would just blame it on the amount of alcohol she had consumed, and coincidently she would take her mind off it by drinking ever more. Without another thought she switched her phone off, stuffed it into the bottom of her bag and rejoined her friends.


	23. PreWedding Jitters

"Do you get the feeling that history is repeating itself?" Rose laughed at her sister as she and Claire supported Amelia as they walked along the corridor towards the room she was sharing with Johnny. Somehow throughout the course of the night Amelia had managed to drink far more than the others and she was now struggling to walk, unaided.

"Let's hope we've got the right room this time." Claire giggled, knocking on the door.

A tired looking Knoxville answered, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Both women could not help but blush slightly at his firm, well toned body. Amelia was a lucky woman that was for sure.

Johnny took one look at Amelia and shook his head. "I knew you girls were bad influences." He sighed, with an amused smile on his face. "What happened to the bridezilla?" He wondered, glancing around for any sign of Laura.

"She's having a nightcap with Kosick and Dimitry in the hotel bar." Claire informed him, grinning.

"Did you guys have a good night?" Rose asked Johnny, struggling to keep her sister upright.

"Oh yeah it was great. But Jeff had a bit too much to drink by about eleven, so we had to bring him back." Johnny shrugged, helping the women to get Amelia into the room. "I think Chris invited everyone back to your room." He added, causing Claire to grimace at the thought.

"Great. I might see if the hotel has got a spare room." She laughed, but Johnny did not fail to detect the hint of seriousness in her voice.

After a brief conversation, Johnny bid Rose and Claire goodnight, before turning to his girlfriend, who was now sitting on the end of the bed with her head in her hands. "How are you feeling?" He smirked, handing her a glass of water.

"Just peachy." She groaned sarcastically as Johnny took a seat beside her on the bed. He was proud of himself for knowing when to stop tonight and he took great pleasure in seeing the tables turned with Amelia.

"I have no sympathy." Johnny told her smugly. "And you're going to feel a hell of a lot worse in the morning."

"Thanks for your unwavering support." Amelia continued to groan, returning the empty glass to Johnny and promptly passing out.

The next morning, Johnny was woken by the sound of a phone ringing. He recognised it as Amelia's, but she was still in a deep, alcohol induced coma. Thinking nothing of it, Johnny dug around in her handbag and without stopping to check the caller ID, he answered it. The voice on the other end caused him to stagger back in surprise.

"Bam?" Johnny gasped in surprise, the last person he had been expecting to hear from.

"Is that you Knoxville?" Bam sounded equally surprised.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Johnny retorted, not intending to sound so defensive, but unable to understand why was Bam ringing Amelia today of all days.

"What? Why did you ring me last night?" Bam asked, sounding just as confused as Johnny felt.

"I didn't..."Johnny frowned and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Wait, this is Amelia's phone you know."

"Amelia? Well why did she ring me last night?" Bam asked, his voice ringing with uncertainty.

Johnny paused, unable to believe or explain this strange phenomenon. "I don't know..." he replied, trying to keep his voice down so as not to wake Amelia. "You didn't speak to her?"

"No." Bam said tersely. "There was no one there. She cut me off straight away."

Johnny glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping woman. Why would she want to ring Bam? Surely she did not know that he was here? "Well she's not here right now, but I'll be sure to tell her you called." And with that Johnny ended the call and checked Amelia's call history. Sure enough Bam's number had been dialled at 12.23. The call had lasted for 51 seconds. He let the phone drop to the bed.

Knowing he would not be able to get back to sleep now, Johnny made his way to the bathroom. The unexpected phone call from Bam had left a sour taste in his mouth. Why would Amelia want to ring Bam, he wondered? The thought continued to circle in his mind as he showered, shaved and dressed. By midnight she must have been well and truly drunk, Johnny told himself, she must have accidently dialled his number. However, no amount of convincing himself of this could put Johnny's mind to rest. Even so, what business was it of Johnny's if Amelia wanted to ring Bam? He was her husband after all. The bitterness that ran through his body shocked Johnny and was enough to make him want to vomit. He decided to get some fresh air, in the hope that it would clear his head.

When Amelia finally woke up, Johnny was nowhere to be found. Her head was pounding, memories of the previous night blurred. She noticed that Johnny must have taken her clothes off and put her to bed, as she was pretty sure she had been in no fit state to do so herself. She glanced at the bedside clock and gasped. How could she have slept in so late? With only an hour before she had to be in Laura's room, getting ready, Amelia crawled to the bathroom and was violently sick. That would teach her to drink so much.

She wished Johnny was around. He had not even left a note, but she tried not to let this bother her. He was probably busy with best man duties, she told herself. Brushing any negativity to once side, Amelia realised that she needed to sober up and lose this hangover as quickly as possible. After rinsing her mouth and brushing her teeth, Amelia poured three large glasses of water down her throat, followed by two pain killers. She was glad that April and Phil would be looking after Brandon while she was getting ready. As soon as she had managed to drag herself through the shower, Amelia tied her wet hair up, pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and made her way to Laura's room.

Three hours later, Laura and her two bridesmaids were all ready to go. Laura looked exquisite in her ivory dress. Her wavy platinum blonde hair was piled up into a loose bun and held in place by a discrete little tiara. Laura's hairdresser and makeup artist friend had managed to work wonders on Amelia. As rough as she might feel on the inside, this no longer showed on the outside. Her hair was now tumbling past her shoulders in loose curls and her eyes had been accentuated with expertly applied shadow, liner and mascara. Her stomach had finally stopped churning, but she still felt dehydrated and kept her bottle of water close at hand. She had tried texting Johnny but to no response, leaving her with the uneasy feeling that she had somehow pissed him off. Had she made an idiot of herself the night before?

Although her memory of getting back to the hotel was a little hazy, Amelia could still remember calling Bam, causing her stomach to churn again. What had possessed her to do that? She cringed and silently vowed never to drink again; it obviously turned her into a husband stalking psycho. In order to delete any trace of that drunken little mistake, Amelia proceeded to delete the call from her phone's history but to her surprise and horror, Bam had apparently called her back. This morning.

A wave of anxiety and disbelief washed over Amelia. Johnny must have taken the call. That would explain why he was avoiding her like the plague. He obviously thought that she had been speaking to Bam last night and it had hurt his male pride. Amelia smacked her palm to her head in frustration. What had he said to Bam? What had Bam said to him? She didn't need this kind of misunderstanding and drama today. The ceremony was due to start in less than half an hour. Johnny and his ego would have to wait if he needed some kind of explanation.

"Are you ok Amelia?" Claire asked in concern. "I know you're probably a bit hung over but you seem more on edge than Laura and she's got pre-wedding jitters."

"I'm fine." Amelia tried to laugh off the question. "It's just the hangover." She reassured her friends and proceeded to take a huge gulp of water.

Laura and Claire looked at her dubiously but did not say anything more on the subject.

"I'm going to fetch Brandon." Amelia informed them, before hurrying off in the direction of Ape and Phil's room. All being well, they would have him washed, dressed and fed, all ready for the day. Amelia considered trying to ring Johnny but quickly decided against it. If he wanted an argument he wasn't going to get one, especially not today. She knocked gently on April and Phil's door and stepped back to wait.

Amelia was momentarily distracted by her phone vibrating, so when she looked up to see that the door had been opened she staggered back and had to double take at the man holding her, no [i]their[/i] son in his arms. Surely this was just another bad dream.

"Bam." She acknowledged, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"Amelia." He returned the sentiment.

He was dressed in a suit and she could not help but notice the way he looked her up and down, making her feel a little exposed in her bridesmaid dress. She folded her arms across her chest. "I didn't realise you were coming." This was an understatement.

"It was a last minute thing." Bam assured her and held Brandon out.

Amelia took the wriggling toddler in her arms and held him tight. "Thanks for watching him." She mumbled, feeling awkward and very much like she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. The mixture of surprise at seeing Bam there and relief that he was ok seemed to negate any anger and hatred she felt towards this man.

Bam shrugged, apparently lost for words. But then, "Did you ring me for something last night?"

Amelia's stomach sank. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that. I must have forgotten to lock my phone and accidently called you in my purse."

Bam nodded courteously. "I assumed that was the case." Amelia felt a rush of relief. At least Bam bought that story. Hopefully Johnny would do the same. "Um, you look really nice." Bam mumbled, so that she could barely understand what he had said. When she did she could not help but blush.

"Err, thanks. Well I um...better get going." She told him and without waiting for a response, Amelia turned on her heel and left.

"Amelia wait, there was something I wanted to ask you..." She heard him shout, but she had gone too far to turn back now. She hurried into Laura's room and shut the door firmly behind her, scared that he might be following.


	24. Taking One for the Team

"Are you alright Amelia? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" Laura explained, watching Amelia warily. Amelia was leaning against the door as she struggled to catch her breath from dashing away from Bam.

"I'm fine. Well actually no, I'm not." Amelia hesitated and sat Brandon down on the bed. "Did you know Bam was here?"

"Bam?" Laura's mouth opened in surprise. "I knew Jeff invited him, but as far as I was aware he hadn't replied." She bit her lip worriedly. "Is it going to be a problem?"

Amelia shook her head determinedly when she saw that Laura's face had fallen. She would not let anything get in the way of her friend's special day. "It's not a problem at all Laura." Amelia told her confidently, embracing the bride in a tight hug. "It just took me by surprise, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Laura asked, pulling away from Amelia.

"I swear." Amelia smiled and crossed her heart. "Now let me have a look at you." She stood back to admire the sight of Laura in her big white dress. "You look beautiful." She grinned.

"Thanks. I'm a bit nervous. I just want to go down now." Laura smiled anxiously. Amelia could not recall ever seeing Laura so nervous before. It was sweet that Jeff clearly had this effect on her.

Amelia took a seat on the bed beside her son and pulled her phone from her clutch bag. The shock of seeing Bam had instantly taken her mind off the text message that she had started to open.

[i]Just thought you should know that Bam's gonna be at the wedding. See you soon. PJ xxx [/i]

Amelia shook her head and scoffed out loud at the message. Perfect timing PJ, if only I'd read the text before he opened the door, Amelia thought and stuffed her phone back in the bag in frustration. There was no point texting him back now.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door and Rose came bursting in. "Sorry to interrupt but Amelia, I need a word."

Amelia looked up at the sound of her name and raised an eyebrow at her sister. "If this has anything to do with a certain husband of mine turning up, you're too late, as was Johnny. I already know."

Rose gaped and tried to smooth down her dress. "Shit. I'm sorry Meels. "

Amelia shrugged and rubbed her head, which was beginning to pound as the pain killers wore off. "Sorry for what? It's no big deal. We're both adults, I'm sure we can be civilised to each other for one day."

Rose seemed to glance anxiously at Laura, as if to ask if she was really buying this. Laura shrugged and Amelia sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Eventually it was time to go down to the hotel's grand hall, where the ceremony was being held. Rose had taken Brandon downstairs with her and Ryan, as Amelia would be busy with her bridesmaid duties, and Laura's father had just arrived to walk her down the aisle. As the bridal party waited in the foyer to make their grand entrance, Amelia could feel her heart fluttering nervously. She was desperately trying to fight off memories of her own wedding and the anxiety that came with them.

Amelia and Claire walked slowly behind Laura as she started to make her way down the aisle, arm in arm with her father. The crowd was a similar size to that of Amelia's wedding, and many of the same faces were present. She wondered what they were thinking. Did they care that her marriage had lasted all of a few months, or were they too busy gazing at the beautiful sight of Laura, floating past them like an angel.

Amelia could see Jeff standing at the far end of the hall, flanked every loyally, by Johnny. She could not help but smile at the sight of the two men in matching tuxedos. She thought she saw a smile flicker across Johnny's lips as their eyes met, but she couldn't be sure. Was he still pissed off with her?

After what seemed like a lifetime, they had made their way to the front of the hall and Laura's father placed her hand in Jeff's before taking his seat with the other guests. Claire stood to the right of Laura and Amelia stood by Johnny's side, the left of the couple.

Amelia glanced up at Johnny, who was looking apologetic. "I'm sorry." He mouthed.

"For what?" she whispered, while the guests were settling down, ready for the ceremony to start.

"For leaving you this morning." He whispered back and took her hand discretely. "I'll make it up to you later." He squeezed her hand. Amelia simply smiled back gently and squeezed his hand back, reassuringly. She felt better than she had all morning.

After Laura and Jeff had said their vows, the wedding party made their way outside where the sun was blissfully shining. It was time for the obligatory wedding photos. Amelia was keen to talk to Johnny in private, but they spent a good half an hour posing dutifully for the photographer. The poor man it seemed had been instructed by Laura to get as many photos of as many people as he possibly could.

Johnny was behaving like a true gentleman. He and Amelia were both painfully aware that Bam would probably be watching their every move. Not wanting to provoke him, Johnny made sure that the most contact between the two of them was his hand on the small of her back as they posed for the camera.

Finally Laura and Jeff had retreated back into the hotel, so Amelia and Johnny seized the opportunity and wandered off with Brandon in tow. They made their way further into the hotel grounds and away from the last of the guests in order to find some privacy.

"I can't believe Jeff's married." Johnny laughed gently, breaking the silence as they came to a halt beside a large oak tree.

"Neither can I." Amelia agreed, hoisting Brandon up on to her hip, a faint smile playing across her lips.

"How are you feeling?" Johnny asked, changing the subject. His eyes were sparkling in the sunlight and he had a mischievous grin across his face.

"Nothing a few glasses of wine won't fix." She assured him with a smirk.

"I'm sorry for my disappearing act this morning." He looked down.

"It's ok. I figured out what happened." She bit her lip, toying between telling him the truth and spinning the same lie that Bam had bought.

"I had no right to be upset that you had rang him." Johnny shrugged. "It really is none of my business. I guess I just felt a little bit jealous. Yeah, I know how stupid that sounds."

Amelia looked up at him and placed her hand on Johnny's arm. "Don't be silly. I forgot to lock my phone and it accidently called him from my purse." She told him, hoping he would believe her.

"I thought as much. I'm sorry Amelia. Can we just forget this?" He looked into her eyes sincerely. "I don't want anything to ever come between us."

Amelia tried to ignore the horrible feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach. "Consider it forgotten." She smiled, hoping her face did not betray her true emotions.

"So about Bam being here..." Johnny seemed to prompt Amelia for her take on the situation.

"I'm fine about it." She told him honestly. "I'm assuming Jeff's already asked you to be on your best behaviour?"

Johnny nodded. "Yes, I've been fairly warned."

"Good. I think we should just continue to avoid any unnecessary PDOAs."

"Come again?" Johnny looked at her in bemusement.

"PDOAs. You know. Public displays of affection." She explained, laughing at the look of confusion on Johnny's face. "I mean, we're still not officially 'public', despite what the magazines are saying."

"You mean I have to keep my hands to myself today?" He translated with a pout.

"Precisely." She smirked. "We don't want to provoke Bam. Just consider it a challenge."

"Oh I like those." Johnny winked suggestively. "Do I get a prize if I complete it?"

"I'll think about it." She smiled seductively.

"Well do you think I could have a little encouragement? I mean, it's going to be hard work, keeping myself from sweeping you off your feet all night." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I suppose I could give you a little something for your trouble." Amelia shrugged and set Brandon on the ground so she could embrace Johnny.

Sometime later when the traditional necessities such as dinner, speeches and the first dance were well and truly over, Amelia found herself squeezed round a table with her fellow cameramen, Dimitry, Rick, Cliver, Lance, Guch, Jaime and Knate. What had originally seemed to be an unofficial production meeting had turned out into a debate surrounding a possible conspiracy under the Dickhouse roof. It was of course Rick, who was leading the discussion.

"Mark my words, they're planning something." Rick warned, folding his arms importantly and motioning his head towards the garden, where the 'producers', Jeff, Johnny, Spike, Trip and a few other unfamiliar faces were holding their own meeting, which seemed to consist of smoking expensive cigars.

"Planning what exactly Kosick?" Dimitry laughed sceptically. "They're producers. It's their job to plan things."

"No you don't get it. It's something big. Something secret." Rick continued, sounding slightly overdramatic. Amelia and Cliver exchanged amused glances.

"I think you need to lay off the booze Rick." Guch laughed, knocking back his own glass of wine.

"Haha very funny." Rick rolled his eyes at Guch, not looking impressed. "I'm being serious here guys. Why are they always holding secret meetings, speaking in hushed voices over the phone and going out for executive lunches?"

"I didn't realise they were?" Amelia laughed gently, trying to humour Rick.

"I think Rick has too much time on his hands, spying on the bosses." Dimitry smirked.

"So what's your theory Rick? What are they planning?" Knate asked, trying to sound serious, but failing.

"I reckon the studios have asked for another movie." Rick replied, taking a sip of wine and maintaining a deadly serious expression.

The others stared at him cynically, unable to believe there could be any truth to this crazy idea of Rick's. "Why on earth would you think that?" Dimitry frowned, trying to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Look at it this way. It's nearly four years since we did number two. There was four years between the first film and number two."

"That's purely a coincidence." Cliver noted. Amelia on the other hand was distracted. She couldn't believe that next month it would be four years since she had met the Jackass guys. Time really has a funny way of creeping up on you, she thought.

"You're going to need more evidence than that Kosick." Jaime laughed.

"I don't see why it's so hard to believe. The last two films made millions." Rick looked around the group. He was missing the point.

"Even if the studio asked, there's no way Jeff would even consider doing another movie right now." Dimitry shrugged. "Steve-O's still in the process of recovering. It would be too soon."

"A lot has changed Rick, and everyone's moved on." Cliver noted, attempting to put the Amelia/Bam/Johnny situation as diplomatically as possible. This did not stop the others looking at Amelia. Although it was not an accusatory look, she could not help but feel a little ganged up on.

"I've had an idea." Rick's eyes lit up after processing Cliver's comment. "Amelia, you're in the perfect position to do a little digging."

The others continued to stare at Amelia. She hesitated as she tried to work out what Rick was insinuating. "You want me to spy on Johnny?" She looked at Rick incredulously.

"Spying is such a strong term." Rick shook his head. "Think of it as taking one for the team."


	25. If Looks Could Kill

Once Amelia had assured Rick that there was no way on earth she would stoop to his levels, she left the table along with Dimitry and Cliver. Although she definitely didn't buy into what Rick was trying to say, she felt a mixture of amusement and intrigue as to what the producers really were talking about outside. In the past she had never been bothered or even had second thoughts as to what Johnny, Jeff and Spike got up to during their private meetings, but Rick had certainly managed to pique her curiosity. Amelia considered nosing outside under the pretence of a cigarette break but she soon realised that this was exactly the kind of act that Rick had been trying to solicit from her in the first place. Scolding herself for even thinking of snooping, she made her way over to the table where Rose, Ryan, Steve and Josie were sitting and occupying Brandon.

"How's my little man doing?" She smiled, watching Josie coo over the toddler.

"He's been an angel as usual." Rose assured her, bouncing Brandon on her lap. "How are you holding up?" She glanced surreptitiously in the direction of her brother in law.

"Holding up?" Amelia raised an eyebrow at her sister as she took a seat between Josie and Rose. "I'm absolutely fine. I wish people would stop making it into a big deal."

"It's a wedding Amelia. There's always some kind of emotional drama involved." Ryan reminded her, rather cynically.

"I'll remember that. It'll be your turn next." Steve nudged Ryan with a smirk on his face.

Ryan visibly cringed at the thought of so much unwanted attention, while Amelia and Rose both chose to ignore the comment. "So have you actually spoken to him?" Rose asked, changing the subject back to Amelia.

"By 'him' I assume you mean my husband?" Amelia sighed, wishing she had gone for that cigarette after all.

"The one and only." Rose assured her.

"Yes, briefly. Now if you don't mind I'd like to enjoy the rest of my night without hearing his name mentioned every few minutes." Amelia laughed, but everyone at the table could tell that she was not joking.

"Sorry sis. Here, I got you a drink." Rose apologised, passing a large glass of red wine towards Amelia.

"Have I told you lately what a great sister you are?" Amelia teased, taking a large sip.

"No, feel free to tell me some more." Rose laughed. "I promise I'll stop interfering now."

"Thanks." Amelia grinned.

Meanwhile outside Jeff, Johnny, Spike and Trip were standing on the hotel terrace overlooking the beautiful grounds. An expensive Cuban cigar was making the rounds and a bottle of the finest whiskey on offer had somehow been procured.

"I propose a toast." Spike announced, holding up his glass. "To Tremaine and his new wife."

The other men toasted Jeff, before turning to the business at hand. Trip took it upon himself to refill everyone's glasses. "So gentlemen. I don't mean to turn this into a business meeting, but under the circumstances I feel it would be a good opportunity to rebuild some bridges and potentially make some headway before our meeting with the studio next month."

"Whoa, hold your horses there Trip. I've had a few too many of these and can't quite take in what you're trying to tell me in business-speak." Johnny laughed, gesturing to his drink.

"He means, Bam's here so we should go cosy up to him and try to get him back on side." Spike patted Johnny on the shoulder, laughing.

Johnny glanced at Jeff, remembering their conversation from the night before. He had already drank way more than he had intended, so as far as he was concerned, avoiding Bam like the plague was the best way to keep his promise to Jeff. "I hope to God you don't mean me." He mumbled.

"No, definitely not." Jeff assured him with a stern look on his face, as if daring Johnny to even try speaking to Bam.

"Good." Johnny said quietly, so that no one could hear him. All he wanted was to carry on and enjoy his evening. It was difficult enough trying to stay away from Amelia, but pretending to be friendly to Bam was a whole different level of impossibility.

Johnny half listened to the rest of the conversation but his heart was not really in it. He was missing Amelia, which was silly considering she had been in the same room as him all evening, but all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and have her close to him again. After having gone so long without being able to be with her, any time apart from her now felt like some kind of cruel and unjust punishment. Not only that, but knowing Bam was also in the same room made Johnny feel uncomfortable.

"Gotta take a leak." Johnny charmingly informed his cohorts, then making his way back inside. In reality he just wanted to see Amelia. He had her in his sights, hoping for a clandestine make out session in the hotel lobby, but before he could reach her table he had been confronted by his ex wife, who was disappointed that he had not come to talk to her yet. The make out session would just have to wait, he thought, letting Mel drag him away to the table where she was sitting.

Amelia had continued to make small talk with the two couples for a while, but as soon as she noticed that Jeff had come back inside she made her excuses, desperate to hurry away for a much needed cigarette without looking as if she was indeed spying on the producers.

"I'll come with you." Josie offered. "I don't really know anyone else who smokes." She smiled nervously.

"Oh don't worry, you soon will." Amelia assured her as they made their way outside. "You'll find that although the majority of people here claim they don't smoke, they all pop out for the occasional nicotine fix when they think no one's looking. Jeff's the worst for it."

Josie laughed and offered Amelia one from her own pack. "Quitting the booze was hard enough. I don't think I'd cope if I'd tried to give up smoking too."

"Are you having a nice time?" Amelia asked, not wanting to make Josie feel awkward by lingering on the subject of bad habits.

"Yeah I am. It's great to meet so many of Steve's friends." She smiled as she lit her cigarette.

"So what's going on with you two, if you don't mind me asking?" Amelia had not spoken to Steve much since her last visit and she was keen to know whether or not he had made his move yet.

Josie suddenly turned a bright shade of red, which clashed vividly with her blue hair. Amelia looked at her expectantly. "Well he sort of asked me out a couple of weeks ago. So we're taking things slow and we'll just see what happens. He's a great guy."

"Yeah he is. I'm really happy for you." Amelia grinned, and gave Josie a hug.

"Thank you."

Amelia and Josie chatted for a while over their cigarettes and exchanged phone numbers before they were interrupted. Amelia looked up to see Bam standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets and cigarette resting between his lips.

"Can I have a word?"

Before Amelia could reply, Josie was making her excuses and heading back inside, clearly not wanting to be in the way of whatever was to follow.

"I suppose." Amelia shrugged and pulled out another cigarette as Bam made his way closer. She was having too good a time to let him get to her tonight. If he wanted to talk that was fine. She didn't necessarily have to keep listening if she didn't like what she heard.

Bam took a seat at one of the patio tables and gestured for Amelia to join him. She wasn't overly keen on the idea but she perched on the edge of a seat nonetheless. Needing a little Dutch courage she stealthily grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter and turned back to look at Bam. Under the outdoor lighting his skin looked sallow and there were dark circles under his eyes. She hadn't noticed how ill he looked this morning as she had been too shocked to see him there in the first place. She could tell that his hair was in need of cutting and it looked as if he had put on weight. Still, she had no room to feel bad for him, considering how much stress he was putting her under with the custody case. She wondered if she should bring it up.

"I need to ask you something about Brandon." He stated, interrupting her thoughts.

Amelia flinched and took a large sip of wine. "I'm not really sure I want to talk about that now, unless you're going to tell me you've changed your mind."

"No I'm not on about that. How does he remember me?" Bam stared at her and stubbed his cigarette out.

"What do you mean?"

"He knows my name. He called me daddy."

"Well you are his father."

"Yeah but..."Bam trailed off, unable to say the words out loud, as if saying it would make it even truer. He was a shit father.

"Look Bam. At the end of the day I've got our son's best interests at heart. Even if you're a massive prick you'll always be his father and until he's old enough to make up his own opinion of you, I'm not going to deprive him of knowing who you are, or letting him see you." Amelia emptied the rest of her glass in one big mouthful.

Bam remained silent. He was taken aback by Amelia's admittance. It certainly left him with a lot to think about.

"So yes, he knows who you are. I think he even remembers you a little bit, which is fucking surprising." Amelia continued and took a deep breath. "Why do you want to take him away from me?" She stared hard, right into his icy blue eyes, wondering whether she would find the answer if she could look deep enough into his soul.

"Why Knoxville?" Bam replied, unexpectedly.

"What?" Amelia frowned at his swift change of subject whilst trying to remain calm.

"You heard me. Why do you want him?" He challenged her, pulling out another cigarette and swiftly lighting it.

"What does that have to do with Brandon?" Amelia glared. He really was unbelievable.

"It has everything to do with it." Bam assured her, scowling back.

"I think you're being childish Bam. Whatever is going on between Johnny and I is really none of your business. As I recall, you were the one who cheated on me."

Bam mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

Amelia sighed exasperatedly. She was not going to play games. "If you'll excuse me, I don't really want to talk to you anymore." Amelia told him coolly, before getting up to leave.

"That's it. Do what you always do and run away when the going gets tough." Bam derided.

Amelia turned around to confront him, but quickly thought better of it. She would not rise to him. Not at her best friend's wedding. "You didn't answer my question." She responded instead. "Why do you want to take my son away from me?"

"Because I can."

Amelia had had enough and without giving Bam the satisfaction of a response she walked off, trying to hide her anger. Who the hell did he think he was? As soon as she stepped foot inside she was met by the welcome distraction of Ryan holding a grumpy Brandon in his arms.

"I think he wants his mom." Ryan told her, handing the toddler over to his mother and breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's well past his bedtime. He must be tired." Amelia reassured Ryan. "I'm going to put him down for the night."

"You do that." Ryan nodded. "Are you ok Amelia? I swear if looks could kill..."

"If looks could kill Bam Margera would be a dead man." Amelia quipped. Maybe her dream had not been a nightmare after all. "I'll see you later Ryan." She walked off without offering any explanation, leaving Ryan wondering what his friend had done this time.

As Amelia made her way to the hotel lobby she scanned the room for Johnny. He was sitting at a table with Madison, Mel, and Mel's new partner. He looked up with a questioning look on his face as Amelia walked past but she did not want to interrupt their conversation.

Johnny managed to catch up with Amelia before she reached the elevators. "I've been waiting for a chance to get you alone all night." He grinned cheekily.

Amelia could not help but smile, despite how angry she was. "I was just going to put Brandon to bed." She told him. "I'm sure I can give you some undivided attention afterwards."

"I like the sound of that." Johnny grinned. "But Ryan said something about you wanting to kill someone...care to elaborate?"

"Oh yeah. Well it doesn't exactly take a genius to guess who I was on about, does it?" She sighed, pressing the button to call the elevator.

"You spoke to him?"

Amelia nodded. "And I regret it. He makes my blood boil. He really thinks that he's the one that's been wronged because we're together. I'm pretty sure he's just using the custody case as a way to punish me."

Johnny remained silent, not wanting to give his pennies worth just yet.

"I'm not going to spend the rest of the night walking on eggshells around him." She continued, walking into the elevator. "If I want to kiss you in the middle of the dance floor I bloody well will."

"You're sexy when you're angry." Johnny grinned, pressing their floor button. "I think it's something to do with your British accent."

Amelia laughed. "Well thank you. It makes a change from having Dimitry take the piss out of me for it."

Johnny ushered Amelia out of the lift and along the corridor to their room. He wondered if she was being serious about kissing him in front of everyone. Bam must really have got to her, but he wasn't going to push her if she didn't want to talk about it. He waited patiently on the sofa while Amelia put her son to bed and she soon returned looking much calmer.

Amelia flopped down on the sofa besides Johnny. She didn't like leaving Brandon on his own, but the hotel was only open to the wedding guests and she would be checking on him regularly throughout the night. "I don't like weddings." She sighed.

Johnny laughed. "Why not? You sound just like Dunn."

"They remind me of what a mistake my own was." Amelia shrugged. "So help me if Rose and Ryan end up tying the knot."

"So you'd never do it again then?" Johnny looked at her.

Amelia chose to ignore the implications of his question. "Get married again? I don't know. I don't know if I want to go through all of that again. What about you? Hasn't getting divorced put you off the idea of marriage?"

Johnny thought about this for a moment. "I don't know. I guess maybe if it was with the right woman."

"How do you know when you've found the right one?" Amelia wondered.

"Oh, you just know." He smiled gently as their eyes met.


	26. Shameless

After a moment of comfortable silence, Johnny leaned into place a soft kiss on Amelia's cheek. However, his gentlemanly gesture was not quite what Amelia had in mind. She turned her head so that their lips could meet and put her arms around his neck so that she could kiss him passionately. Who was Johnny to argue with that? He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist, closing the gap between them. The smell of Amelia's perfume was intoxicating and as Johnny breathed her in he kissed her more forcefully, running his fingers through her hair. Amelia seemed to enjoy this, moaning into the kiss as her hands worked their way down his back. In one swift movement Johnny had shrugged off his jacket and leant back on the sofa, pulling Amelia down on top of him.

They kissed for what seemed like hours when Amelia finally broke away. Her dress was beginning to become somewhat of a pain and she knew that they should probably go back downstairs and rejoin the party. Johnny, although slightly frustrated, understood.

"So err...what are the rules regarding physical contact for the rest of the night?" He queried as they made their way back down to the party.

"There are none." She winked.

When they returned to the party, Johnny disappeared for a few moments. Before Amelia had time to wonder where he had gone the music changed and Garth Brooks' Shameless filled the room. Amelia felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and she twisted round to see Johnny with a huge grin in his face. "May I have this dance?"

Amelia blushed. "Come on PJ, you know I don't dance." No amount of alcohol would ever make her feel confident enough to dance in front of everyone.

"Sure you do." He laughed. "I requested this one especially for you. I know how much you love a bit of Garth Brooks."

The dance floor was painstakingly empty, but Amelia could not argue. She allowed Johnny to lead her on to the dance floor where they started to slow dance. Amelia tried to ignore the people watching them. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, listening to him sing along softly to the music.

_"Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you. I'll do anything you want me to. I'll do anything at all."_

Amelia closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the music and Johnny's smooth voice. He was a good singer when he put his mind to it.

_"I'm shameless, oh honey, I don't have a prayer. Every time I see you standin' there I go down upon my knees." _

To Amelia's relief, other couples began to join them. Amelia glanced up to see Rose and Ryan and Laura and Jeff next to them. She caught Laura's eye and smiled. Laura looked like she was having the time of her life.

_"And I'm changing, swore I'd never compromise. Oh, but you convinced me otherwise. I'll do anything you please."_

Johnny continued to sing along and the words sent shivers down Amelia's spine.

_ "You see in all my life I've never found...What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down. I could walk away from anyone I ever knew. But I can't walk away from you." _

Steve, Ehren, Dave and their respective partners had now joined the dance floor, along with Chris and Claire and April and Phil. Amelia no longer felt so self conscious and realised how much she was enjoying herself.

_"I have never let anything have this much control over me. I work too hard to call my life my own. And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly. But it's your world now, I can't refuse. I've never had so much to lose. Oh, I'm shameless." _

Amelia was pretty sure that from the way they were dancing and the way Johnny was softly singing to her, everyone in the room would now know that they were a couple. This did not worry her. On the contrary she was glad. She didn't care what anyone thought about her still being married to Bam. She was proud to be with Johnny and nothing would ever change that.

_"You know it should be easy for a man who's strong...To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong. I've never lost anything I've ever missed. But I've never been in love like this." _

As the song came to an end Johnny stopped singing and started to kiss Amelia, either oblivious or unbothered by the fact that people were watching. "I love you Amelia." He smiled into the kiss, squeezing her tighter to him.

"I love you too Philip John Clapp."

It was nearly 3am and almost all of the guests had now either gone home or up to their hotel rooms. Almost all that is, except for Johnny, Chris, Dimitry, Guch and Cordell. They were sitting around the empty bar, working their way through a large bottle of Jack Daniels. Amelia had long since passed out in the bedroom after checking on Brandon and insisting that Johnny should stay up and have a good time. Jeff and Laura had left about ten minutes ago to spend their first night together as husband and wife. Johnny was looking forward to following suit but first he needed a smoke.

He wandered out onto the terrace for his last cigarette of the evening. Despite it being the depths of winter it was a mild night, though he still wished he had not left his jacket back in the room. Perching on the edge of the wall, Johnny pulled out his cigarettes, placed one between his lips and lit it. He was perfectly oblivious to the fact that he was not alone and was being watched.

As he smoked his cigarette in silence, he pondered his earlier conversation with Amelia regarding marriage. He couldn't help but wonder if her experience with Bam really had put her off marriage for good or if maybe one day she would possibly consider tying the knot again. Johnny was no stranger to heartbreak, but he knew that with Amelia he had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. While he had certainly been in love with Mel, they had been young and naive, just like Amelia and Bam. Johnny had done a lot of growing up over the past five years and he finally knew what he wanted. At the same time he was smart enough not to push the subject of marriage with Amelia any further. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off.

Johnny ran a hand through his hair and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. He knew he'd had too much to drink and it always left him feeling tense and unsure of himself. It was rare that Johnny knew when to stop, but tonight proved to be an exception. Her stubbed out his cigarette and swallowed the last mouthful of bourbon before heading back inside. He had almost reached the door when he heard someone shout his name. He was taken by surprise having assumed he was the only person outside.

"Going to sleep with my wife now Knoxville?"

Johnny let out a loud sigh. He paused, weighing up his options. He could choose to ignore the comment and be the bigger man like Jeff had asked him to, or he could rise to it. Well, Jeff was out of the picture now. The wedding was all but over and Johnny had one too many glasses of whiskey under his belt.

"She wouldn't be your wife anymore if you'd just sign the damn divorce papers." Johnny called back to the invisible voice.

"And why would I want to do that?" Bam appeared from the shadows, clutching a bottle of beer in one hand and his cigarette in the other. Judging by the way he slurred his words, it seemed Johnny wasn't the only one who'd had a little too much booze.

Johnny took a few steps closer to Bam so that he could look him directly in the eye when he replied. "Because she deserves a lot better than you could ever give her. You could be a decent guy and let her get on with the rest of her life, stress free. Hell, you could even drop the custody case while you're at it."

"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you Knoxville. Then you'd be free to play happy families with that bitch and my son." Bam spat, scowling at the older man.

It seemed Amelia had been right, Johnny thought. Bam was more pissed with Johnny being in a relationship with his wife than the fact that Amelia had left him in the first place. Still, no one was going to call Amelia a bitch in front of Johnny and get away with it.

Bam stood perfectly still as Johnny came at him, almost as if he expected and wanted his opponent to hit him. Johnny's fist flew in the direction of his face and Bam didn't so much as flinch. "That was for Amelia." Johnny declared after his hand had made contact with Bam's nose. "Whatever's going on between the two of us has nothing to do with you."

Bam staggered backwards slightly, his bottle had dropped to the floor. He put his sleeve up to his nose, which was now dripping with blood. "Whatever happened to bros before hoes?" Bam shouted, wiping the blood away as best he could and acting as if nothing had happened.

"That went out the window when you cheated on your wife." Johnny assured him, standing back slightly but remaining on guard should Bam decide to retaliate.

"On the contrary, I'd say it went out the window when the two of you went behind my back." Bam folded his arms. "And don't try to deny it."

Johnny chose to ignore the truth in this comment. Bam was clearly imagining a lot more than the reality of a kiss or two. "You're deluded by your own guilt Bam." He shook his head. "It's pathetic."

"I'll tell you what's pathetic old man; sleeping with your friend's wife... who's ten years younger than you." Bam derided.

Once again, this was too much for Johnny to take and he leapt forward for a second round. Bam was ready for him this time and caught him by surprise with a punch to the stomach. Johnny doubled over in pain and swung wildly with one arm. Bam was too quick and now having the upper hand he caught Johnny with a fierce knock in the jaw. Johnny stood up straight and he could taste blood. He must have busted his lip.

"If you want pathetic just take a look in the mirror." Johnny shouted, spitting blood. "You've really gone downhill since she left you."

Bam threw another punch, this time hitting Johnny square in the face. "God I've wanted to do that for such a long time." Bam mused, admiring his handy work as Johnny felt the blood pour from his nose. "Not so handsome now are you, pretty boy?"

As Johnny wiped his nose, he glanced down at his once white shirt and saw that he was covered in blood. Bam was too. They had resorted to mindless violence and it was getting them nowhere. Now was the time for Johnny to be the bigger man. "Do you know what Bam, fuck you. I've tried being civil, I've tried reasoning with you, but what's the point? You're just an immature little boy who thinks he can always get his own way. Well go ahead and do whatever the fuck you want. See if I care. See if anyone cares. What Amelia ever saw in you, I have no idea."

Johnny started to walk away, hoping upon hoping that the last few stragglers at the bar would have long since retired. His bloody shirt was going to take some explaining. He had nearly reached the door when Bam caught his attention once again.

"I did actually have a reason for talking to you tonight Knoxville." Bam shouted over to him, lighting another cigarette.

"Oh you did? Care to elaborate?" Johnny raised his eyebrow.

"I'm feeling pretty damn reasonable considering the circumstances." Bam informed him with a huge smirk. It was enough to make Johnny want to hit him again. "Even after this little brawl, I'm willing to cut you a deal."

Johnny had a feeling that whatever 'deal' Bam had to offer, it was going to be in some way questionable. He had known the guy for too long to underestimate him or indeed to expect him to suddenly change his mind. "I'm listening."

"I'll sign the divorce papers, drop the custody case and go along with any future Jackass projects...on one condition." Bam began.

This was too good to be true, Johnny was sure of it. He held his breath as he waited for the catch.

"You leave Amelia."


	27. The Start of a Long Week

Johnny traipsed through the empty function room, Bam's words echoing in his head all the way into his hotel room, where he stripped out of his bloody shirt and washed the blood off his face. Amelia was still fast asleep as he slipped into bed. He closed his eyes but his mind was working in overdrive. Bam had made it sound so simple. _All you have to do is leave Amelia_. Every time Johnny replayed those words in his head he felt a flash of anger surge through his body. Who the hell did Bam think he was? What right did he have to play god with other people's lives.

Johnny tossed and turned that night, wondering what to do, wondering whether he should tell Amelia what Bam had said. As easy as it would be to dismiss Bam's demands as ludicrous, Johnny could not help but worry that Amelia might be tempted by his ultimatum, if just for an easier life.

Amelia woke early the next morning as she wanted to see Laura and Jeff off on their honeymoon. Johnny was curled up away from her on the far side of the bed. She couldn't remember him coming back so she decided to let him sleep in a little longer while she and Brandon got ready for the day. It wasn't until she got out of the shower that she noticed Johnny's face. She had to put a hand to her mouth to stop herself from gasping in shock.

He had a black eye, a swollen nose and a split lip. All in all he looked pretty rough. Amelia wrapped the towel tightly around her and perched on the side of the bed next to him. She could only begin to guess what had happened. He looked as if he had gotten into a fight, but then again it wasn't so long ago that he's thought having Jeff give him a black eye would be a good idea. Perhaps they had got a little carried away last night. She stroked his face anxiously, hating to see him injured.

After a few minutes Johnny's eyes fluttered open and he found himself looking at Amelia's worried face. His head was pounding as a combination of the whiskey and his fist fight with Bam. His mouth felt dry and he tried to clear his throat before talking to Amelia. He was grateful when she passed him a glass of water.

"What happened to your face?" Amelia asked as Johnny pulled himself into a sitting position.

Johnny tried to ignore the fact that all Amelia had on was a towel. "It's nothing." He murmured, rubbing his temple. "I just need some painkillers."

"It doesn't look like nothing." She frowned, handing him a packet of tablets. "It looks like you got into a fight."

When Johnny didn't reply, Amelia knew she had hit the nail on the head. "No prizes for guessing who you were fighting." She sighed, glad that she had not been around to see it. "Did he come off as bad as you?" She gestured at Johnny's face.

"I'm sorry Amelia." Johnny mumbled, not able to meet her eye. He was far more ashamed of himself for rising to Bam than she or Jeff could ever be.

"It's not me you should be apologising to. Does Jeff know?" She stood up and started to rummage through her clothes to find an outfit for the day.

Johnny shook his head. "Everyone had left by then."

"I guess that's something. So what exactly did he say or do to provoke you?" Amelia asked, turning around so that Johnny could not see as she put on her bra and t-shirt.

"It's um ... best I don't repeat it." Johnny shrugged, earning a raised eyebrow from Amelia.

"Yeah you're right. I don't think I want to know." She agreed after a moment's hesitation.

Johnny wondered whether he should mention Bam's 'offer' but quickly decided against it. At the best it would piss Amelia off and at the worst it might push her away from him. He climbed out of bed to get a shower at let Amelia finish getting dressed.

About an hour later a handful of guests had gathered in the hotel lobby to wish Laura and Jeff a happy honeymoon. Johnny had managed to hide his black eye under his shades, and the swelling around his nose had started to subside. He hoped Jeff wouldn't say anything about his fat lip.

"Hope you have a great time dude." He said, patting his friend on the back.

"Cheers PJ. And thanks for waiting til everyone went to bed." Jeff winked, looking at his swollen lip.

Johnny grimaced slightly, but before he had chance to explain himself, Laura had thrown her arms around him. "Thank you for coming Johnny. Make sure you take good care of Amelia while I'm away!"

"I will." He smiled gently, kissing Laura on the cheek.

Only two days later it was time to pick Amelia's parents up from the airport. She had opted to leave Johnny, Rose and Ryan behind and drive to the airport with Brandon alone. She needed a little time to clear her head before the family Christmas began. It was going to be a hectic week, with everyone staying at Johnny's. It was lucky that he had so many guest rooms. This year it was Johnny's turn to have Madison over Christmas so there really was going to be a houseful.

Amelia and Brandon made their way into the arrivals lounge and waited for Lisa and Stuart to appear in the crowd of passengers. It didn't take long for her parents to spot Amelia and their grandson and they hurried over to embrace their daughter, who they had not seen for months.

"Oh I've missed you so much Amelia!" Lisa exclaimed, hugging her daughter tightly.

"I've missed you too mum." Amelia smiled, handing Brandon over so that she could embrace her dad.

"Wow he's grown so much." Lisa remarked, smothering the little boy in kisses.

"How are you Amelia?" Stuart asked, "Still enjoying the LA life?"

"I'm fine thanks dad." She assured him. "Let's get going. Rose is waiting." Amelia took Lisa's suitcase and starting leading them towards the exit.

"Well I'm glad she actually made the effort to join us." Lisa remarked. Amelia silently sighed. It was going to be a long week.

"She brought Ryan with her as well." Amelia explained, thinking it would be better to give her parents a little warning.

"Oh lovely. I like Ryan." Lisa smiled. Amelia and Stuart rolled their eyes. Lisa had liked all of Amelia and Rose's past partners, that is, until something went wrong and then they would not hear the end of it.

"So where are we staying?" Lisa asked as the four of them piled into Amelia's little car. "Surely there's not enough room in your apartment for all of us."

Amelia had decided not to tell her parents that they would be staying with Johnny until the very last minute. Her father would be too excited, while her mother would be disapproving. "No, we're going to be staying with Johnny, mum. He has plenty of room. I hope that's ok?"

Stuart's eyes lit up as if Christmas had come two days early, while her mother shot her a typically disapproving look from the back seat. "Are you still seeing him?"

"Yes I'm still seeing him." Amelia sighed, pulling out of the airport car park.

"You haven't moved in with him have you?" Lisa asked, sounding slightly alarmed.

"No mum!" Amelia exclaimed. "He's just offered us the use of his guest rooms for the week, so that we don't have to rent out hotel rooms."

"That's very kind of him, isn't it Lisa?" Stuart turned around to look at his wife.

"Yes it is." Lisa agreed, although she did not sound nearly as sincere as Stuart.

Amelia held her tongue and decided to let her mother's negative attitude wash over her. She would not rise to it. She knew the only reason Lisa was being so difficult about the Johnny situation was that she hated the idea of her daughter getting divorced. Not because they were religious, but Lisa had experienced divorce at a young age herself and she had always hoped that her daughters would avoid making the same mistake.

The rest of the journey back to Johnny's house was spent chatting about friends and family and it wasn't long before they were driving through Johnny's gates. Stuart let out a low whistle of approval as they pulled up outside Johnny's impressive looking home. Lisa remained silent but Amelia noticed that she could not quite contain the look of awe that was spreading across her face.

Amelia switched off the engine and Rose came running out of the house to greet her parents as they climbed out of the car. While Rose was hugging Lisa and Stewart, Amelia took Brandon from the child seat and spotted Johnny and Ryan hiding like naughty schoolchildren in the doorway. She couldn't help but laugh as she waved them over. "Come on boys, you can carry the suitcases." She grinned.

"It's lovely to see you again Ryan." Lisa embraced him in a motherly hug when he had wandered over; while her husband shook Johnny's hand and complimented him on having such a nice place. Amelia had already warned her parents about Johnny's face, writing it off as a stunt that had gone wrong. They had seemed to buy the story without question, much to Amelia's relief.

"It's going to be a long week." Rose whispered to Amelia, echoing her earlier thoughts while they watched the others greet each other.

"Tell me about it." Amelia groaned. "I think I need a drink."

Between the two of them, Amelia and Rose finally managed to usher their parents and partners into the house. Johnny gave the Jones' a brief tour of his house, before showing them to their room. He had sensed that Lisa was a little reserved around him at first, but Amelia had warned him that she was still bitching over the prospective divorce. This did not particularly faze him however, and he was confident that it wouldn't be too hard to win Amelia's mother over with a dash of his southern charm.

Later that afternoon Mel arrived to drop Madison off and wished them all a happy Christmas. With the house so full, Johnny was grateful that he barely had chance to think about what Bam had said at the wedding. He was also grateful for the fact that Stuart was so approving of him as Amelia's boyfriend, even if her mother did not feel quite the same way.

"Oh don't worry about Lisa." Stuart told Johnny, perhaps a little drunk. The men had retired to Johnny's games room with a bottle of expensive whiskey and Johnny and Stuart were playing a game of pool. "She's always been overprotective of Amelia because she was so quiet as a child. She still wishes that Amelia had come back to England instead of moving here when everything cracked off... but you're a top guy Johnny. I know you'll take good care of my daughter."

"That I will Stuart." Johnny assured him, taking a swig of his drink. Stuart had insisted on Johnny calling him by his first name rather than 'Mr Jones'.

"And Ryan." Stuart began, turning to the younger man and leaning on his cue. "All I can say is good luck. Rose is a handful. She'll keep you on your toes."

Meanwhile, Amelia, Rose, Lisa and Madison were sitting in the living room with Brandon, sharing a bottle of wine, or in Madison and Brandon's case orange juice. Amelia and Rose were getting their mother up to date with everything that had been going on in their lives recently.

"It's so nice to be reunited with my daughters." Lisa smiled tipsily. "I can't believe you've both left me for America."

Amelia and Rose laughed. "Come on mum! Don't tell me you're not glad to have finally got rid of me." Rose teased.

"Well, it is much quieter since you moved out." Lisa remarked with a smirk. "Amelia, I'm sorry for not being as supportive of your new relationship as I should be." She sighed, rubbing her temple.

"Mum, its ok..." Amelia began, not wanting to receive a lecture or indeed start an argument.

"No, it's not. I just want to explain myself. Johnny seems like a wonderful guy." Lisa smiled at Madison as she said this.

Amelia waited for the 'but' that would surely follow.

"But I can't help but wish you'd gone for someone a little more...stable? No offence to your father Madison."

Madison simply laughed at this description of her dad but Amelia frowned. "What do you mean 'stable'? Johnny's perfectly stable." Amelia folded her arms defiantly. It seemed avoiding an argument was out of the question.

"Come on Amelia, I've seen his show. That kind of behaviour is not what I'd call healthy. I would have thought that you'd have learned from your marriage."

"Hold it right there a second mum." Amelia cut Lisa off. "Johnny is nothing like Bam. I don't understand why you never said anything like this when we visited over the summer?"

"I didn't realise how serious things were between the two of you." Lisa explained.

"Look mum. I accept the fact that you wish I was dating someone 'normal' after everything that's happened, but I love Johnny and he makes me happy." Amelia finished her sentence with a large gulp of wine and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air."

Rose, Lisa and Madison watched warily as Amelia left the room. "Did I say the wrong thing?" Lisa asked Rose.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I think you need to give Amelia break mum. She knows what she's doing and she's under a lot of stress with everything at the moment." She purposely avoided mentioning the 'd' word. A lecture on divorce was the last thing Amelia needed right now.


	28. Christmas with the Jones'

Amelia made her way to the bottom of Johnny's garden where she could safely light up a cigarette out of her parents' sight. She knew she needed to stop smoking and she had even considered giving up as her New Year's resolution but with the way things were going lately this did not look likely.

"Do you want some company?"

Amelia spun around, finding herself face to face with Johnny's daughter. "Oh hey Madison, I didn't hear you come over." She glanced at the cigarette in her hand and felt a little guilty.

"You don't have to put it out on my account." Madison laughed at Amelia as she leant down to stub her cigarette out. "Dad thinks I don't know that he smokes, but I'm fourteen, not stupid." She smirked.

"Sorry." Amelia smiled sheepishly, standing back up. "I guess I'm just trying to be a responsible adult."

Madison giggled. "So do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Amelia smiled. "I'm sorry about what my mum said. I can't believe her sometimes."

"My mom's the same, especially when it comes to dad. I've heard it all before." Madison assured her with a grin. "But for the record, I think you and my dad go really well together and I know he won't do anything to mess it up."

"Well thanks." Amelia smiled, trying not to blush at the teenager's words.

"I thought you were going to quit?" Amelia and Madison turned around to see Johnny standing behind them, looking at Amelia in amusement.

Amelia shrugged. "What can I say? It's harder than it looks."

"Hey kiddo, your uncle Ryan's getting his butt kicked at pool by Amelia's dad. I think he could use a hand." Johnny winked at his daughter. Madison got the hint and smiled knowingly before skipping off towards the house.

Once Madison had disappeared inside, Johnny set about lighting his own cigarette. Amelia shook her head and laughed slightly.

"What?" Johnny asked in confusion.

"Madison's a lot smarter than you give her credit for. She knows damn well that you're smoking." Amelia told him with a smirk.

Johnny exhaled a large cloud of smoke and looked at Amelia, slightly embarrassed. "She does?"

"Yep. We were just talking about it before we were so rudely interrupted." She teased, poking him in the rib.

"Ouch!" he laughed, batting her hand away. "Well I guess she's not stupid." He paused. "And neither am I. So what's bothering you?" He looked at Amelia seriously.

"What makes you think something's bothering me?" She countered, folding her arms. "Is a girl not allowed to smoke when she feels like it?"

"Well for a start..." he looked up at the sky. "It's raining."

"It's only just started." Amelia corrected him, but she winced a little as the rain started to come down more heavily.

"Ok, I'll give you that. But you've not seen your parents for months, yet you're choosing to spend your time outside..."

"Fine, you win."Amelia sighed and stubbed her cigarette out. "My mum decided to lecture me about how I should find someone more 'stable' to date."

"She did?" Johnny put his own cigarette out and looked at Amelia. "Maybe she's right?"

Amelia's eyes widened. "Do you really think that?"

Johnny could detect the disappointment in her voice and instantly felt bad for what he had said. He could have used the moment to bring up what Bam had said, but he could see how much Lisa's comments had upset Amelia.

"Of course not." Johnny pulled Amelia into his chest and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. "I mean, sure I'm not the most stable person on the planet, but you know, there's no getting rid of me now."

"Good." Amelia murmured softly into his chest as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Because I don't think I could cope with all of this without you."

"I'm going nowhere Amelia." He assured her before releasing her. "Now what do you say we go inside before we get soaked?"

Amelia followed Johnny back into the house, where everyone was now gathered in the living room.

"I have to say Johnny, your daughter is a hell of a lot better at pool than you!" Stuart exclaimed once they'd taken their seats. "She kicked my arse!"

"I should hope so. She's had plenty of practice beating me." Johnny laughed.

That night whilst lying in his king-sized bed with Amelia in his arms, Johnny made a decision. He decided to forget everything that Bam had said at the wedding. Both he and Amelia had worked too hard and put too much on the line to let Bam come between them. Paying just the slightest bit of attention to his demands would only fuel the man's ego. Even if Johnny was to give in to Bam, there was no guarantee that he would hold up his side of the bargain. In fact, it was almost certain that he wouldn't. No, Johnny was simply going to pretend the conversation had never happened and concentrate on his new life with Amelia. He was confident that she would sail through the custody case and once that was out of the way, she and Harry could concentrate on the divorce. Before they knew it, Amelia and Brandon would be moving in with him and they could live happily ever after. Johnny fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye, but it was not without a touch of drama. The morning was fairly low key, with Brandon coming off best in the present department, followed in close second by Madison.

Ryan and Rose disappeared shortly before dinner, much to Amelia's confusion and annoyance as it left her and Lisa to prepare dinner alone. Amelia was relieved as mother avoided mentioning Johnny or the divorce. In fact, they had some very pleasant mother and daughter bonding time as they planned out the rest of the week. Lisa and Stuart had never visited LA before so they were keen to do the whole tourist thing while they were there. As a Christmas gift from him and Amelia, Johnny had managed to procure VIP tickets for a tour around Paramount and Universal studios. Needless to say, as a huge movie buff, Stuart was more than thrilled.

"Um Amelia, could you come out here a second?" Amelia turned around from the sink where she was peeling the vegetables to see Ryan standing in the doorway biting his lip.

"Oh hey you're back." Amelia smiled. "I'm kind of busy at the moment. What's up?" She asked, expecting Brandon to have gotten into some kind of mess.

"Nothing's up." Ryan smirked. "I just need you to come outside with me."

Amelia stared at him suspiciously. From the grin on his face she was pretty sure she wasn't going to like what was going on. "You know I hate surprises Dunn, so just spit it out. What's going on?"

"Oh Amelia you're no fun." He shook his head and walked over to her. "It's Christmas! Just relax a bit would you?" He laughed, taking Amelia by the shoulders and forcibly steering her out of the room.

"Ryan, I'm supposed to be cooking dinner, I..." but she was cut off when he pushed her out of the front door and she was met by the sight of her purple convertible that she had not seen since leaving West Chester. Standing around it was Rose, her father, Madison and Johnny holding Brandon.

"Happy Christmas Amelia." Ryan grinned, releasing his grip on her shoulders.

"How...?"Amelia tried to form a sentence but she was in far too much shock to speak. She honestly never thought she'd see her car again, but here it was, sitting on Johnny's driveway between Ryan's rental car and Johnny's SUV in all its purple glory.

"How did you get it here?" she asked Ryan as she pulled him into a hug. "Surely Bam..."

"The car's still in your name and it was just sitting in Bam's garage. I asked him what he was gonna do with it and he said he didn't care. Naturally as a car enthusiast I felt inclined to take it off his hands." Ryan winked. "But as for shipping it here, well, let's just say I have some friends who owed me a favour."

"Thank you so much Ryan! I can't tell you how much I love this car." Amelia hugged him again. "Even if it was bought for me by a total bastard." She added with a smirk. "I've really missed driving it."

"We were a little worried you wouldn't want it..." Rose admitted, handing Amelia the keys.

"But look at this way, now it's technically a gift from us." Ryan added.

"This is your car Amelia?" Lisa asked, coming to stand beside her daughter and staring at the purple sports car. "I thought it belonged to Bam." Everything about it did indeed scream 'Bam', but this did not bother Amelia, she had loved the car from the moment she had laid eyes on it

"Nope, it's all mine." Amelia grinned proudly. "Do you like it mum?"

"Actually, I do." Lisa laughed. "I'm sure it'll fit right in here in LA." That was true, compared to the majority of the cars that could be spotted in the area, Amelia's was positively subtle. "It's a lot nice than that piece of junk you picked us up in."

Later that day when the Christmas dinner was well and truly out of the way, the Jones', Johnny, Madison and Ryan were slumped in the living room, nursing their swollen stomachs, full of food.

"Dude, that was the best Christmas dinner I have ever had." Ryan exclaimed, rubbing his belly.

"I'm so full I can't move." Rose agreed, kicking off her shoes and stretching back.

"I take it nobody wants more dessert?" Amelia grinned, pouring the adults a glass of red wine. A collective groan confirmed her suspicions.

"I could use something a little stronger to aid digestion." Johnny laughed when Amelia came to him with the bottle.

"Here here." Stuart agreed, gulping down his wine at the same time.

Johnny got up and made his way to the kitchen to pour glasses of brandy for himself, Stuart and Ryan, when he was ambushed by Lisa. "I think it's time you and I had words Johnny." She declared, placing her empty wine glass on the table in a stern manner.

Johnny took a deep breath, he had been expecting this to happen at some point during the week and he supposed it was better sooner rather than later. "Can I get you a drink?" he offered politely.

"Brandy would be nice, thank you." Lisa's eyes softened and she took a seat at the table. After a few moments of awkward silence, she spoke up. "I'm sorry if I've been a little harsh over the past few days Johnny." She started, as Johnny passed her a glass. "I was just trying to look out for my daughter. I guess sometimes I forget that she's not a little girl anymore. She's more than capable of making her own decisions, even if they're not necessarily the right ones."

Johnny remained quiet, not quite sure what, if anything, he was supposed to say.

"My biggest fear has always been that my girls might make the same mistakes I did, getting married and divorced young, you know." She paused. "But I can't wrap them up in cotton wool forever. They need to go out and make their own mistakes, so they can learn from them right? You've got a daughter; you must see where I'm coming from."

Johnny took a sip of brandy and nodded gently. "I do."

"But enough about me" Lisa sighed. "I want to talk about you Johnny. I really want to apologise for my behaviour. It's not fair for me to tar you with the same brush as Bam. Truth be told, I think you're a lovely, intelligent young man and it's obvious how happy you make my Amelia." Lisa smiled. "Plus you seem to be a great hit with my husband and grandson."

Johnny laughed slightly, touched by Lisa's words. "Thank you, that means a lot."

"I'm serious Johnny. You're one of the good ones. So will you accept my apology? I don't really think you're unstable." Lisa's eyes twinkled.

Johnny stuck out his hand for Lisa to shake. "Apology accepted." He agreed, pouring her another glass of brandy. "So we can call it a truce?"

Lisa gratefully accepted her drink and smiled across the table at her daughter's boyfriend. She held up her glass to him. "Johnny, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"She really said that?" Amelia laughed, later that night when everyone had gone to bed. She was lying in bed, waiting for Johnny to join her, while he recounted the conversation between himself and Lisa that afternoon. Amelia had been shocked to learn of her mother's apology. Under normal circumstances, hell would have to freeze over before Amelia's mother would so much as mouth the words 'I'm sorry'. For Amelia, Lisa's approval of Johnny was a far better gift than any material object. "'The start of a beautiful friendship!'" Amelia giggled. "I didn't even realise she'd seen Casablanca. Perhaps dad's movie trivia is starting to rub off on her."

"I'll admit I was impressed." Johnny agreed, unbuttoning his shirt. "But I was even more surprised to have been given her seal of approval so early on in the week. I thought it would take far more of my southern charm than that."

Amelia laughed and kissed Johnny on the cheek as he slipped into bed beside her. "Maybe it's not going to be such a long week after all." She sighed contentedly.


	29. Happy Holidays

"When was the last time you had a relaxing holiday?" Amelia asked Johnny, stressing the term 'relaxing'. They had just arrived on the tiny Maldivian island that they would call their home for the next two weeks. The island housed just one, very posh hotel, whose rooms consisted of luxurious wooden huts dotted along the sea front. Amelia had never been anywhere quite like it. The view of blue sky and calm water from their terraced balcony looked as if it might have been photo-shopped. Everything was just too perfect.

Amelia was sitting behind Johnny on one of their sun loungers, rubbing sun protection cream into his back, while he was excitedly flicking through scuba-diving brochures. He paused for a moment, considering her question. "I guess I've never really had a relaxing vacation", he laughed, tossing the brochure aside. "Filming Jackass was always like an extended vacation. When I was with Mel, I used to just fly her and Madison out to be with us. I never really paid them enough attention though. I was always too busy with filming or something."

Amelia massaged the lotion into his shoulders, grinning as he shuddered at her touch. "Should I feel special then? Or am I going to find party boy hiding under the bed?"

"No you should definitely feel special. I can assure you that it's just going to be me and you, all alone on this paradise island", Johnny smiled, turning his neck to kiss her tenderly. "Except for maybe a few other tourists", he added as an afterthought, before Amelia pulled him around to face her. "We've got to make up for so much lost time", he winked as she started to massage his chest.

"Hmm, I definitely like the sound of that", Amelia smiled, running her hands along his toned torso.

This fortnight was going to be pure heaven, she thought. Ever since she and Johnny had finally gotten together, they had never really had chance to be alone and be a normal couple. There was always someone or something in the way, but not now. For the next two weeks they could pretend that nothing else was going on in their lives and concentrate on their feelings for one another, away from interfering friends and relatives, and prying paparazzi. Although she was missing him already, Amelia knew that Brandon was in safe hands with Rose and Ryan, who were staying in LA for New Year.

"There, you're all done", Amelia laughed, patting Johnny on the chest and wiping the rest of the cream onto her bare legs. "No sunburn for you."

"Don't act like you were worried about my health", Johnny teased. "You just wanted to touch me."

"Ok, you got me. Was it that obvious?" Amelia laughed. "I can't help it if you have an irresistible body...for someone who's nearly forty."

"I resent that. But I suppose yours isn't too bad either", Johnny grinned, looking Amelia up and down before putting a hand on her bare waist and pulling her closer to him. "Granted it's not as impressive as mine, but it's nothing a few sit-ups won't fix", he joked, poking her in the stomach.

"Hey!" Amelia exclaimed, poking him back in the ribs.

"Ok, I deserved that", Johnny smirked, holding up his hands in surrender. "Let me make it better", he grinned, bending down to kiss her stomach.

Amelia giggled. "Come on, let's go down to the beach." She stood up, grabbed two towels and pulled Johnny after her. They made their way down the steps at the end of their terrace that led to the beach, where Amelia laid out the towels and sat down. She stared out across the picture perfect horizon, enjoying the gentle breeze that was drifting towards them from the sea.

"I can't believe we've practically got the island to ourselves", Amelia remarked as Johnny sat down beside her and stretched out his legs. They had only seen one other couple since checking in at the reception over an hour ago. "Not that I'm complaining", she added, feeling Johnny's hand starting to snake up her back. She turned her head so that he could peck him on the cheek.

"You know, it's exactly a year since you turned up at my house out of the blue", Johnny mused, putting a hand on her cheek and tilting her head so that he could kiss her fully on the lips.

"Really? I don't know what I was thinking", she teased, kissing him back.

Johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on top of him. "I'm glad you did", he smiled softly, entwining his fingers in her hair.

"So am I." Amelia smiled down at him before placing a trail of kisses along his neck and shoulder, knowing how it would drive him crazy. Once she reached Johnny's chest, Amelia brought her head back up and her lips crashed against his, kissing him passionately. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders and pressed her hips against his, eliciting a moan of pleasure from Johnny.

In one swift movement Johnny grabbed Amelia by the hips and rolled over so that he was now in control. Amelia realised that he had undone her bikini. She had to hand it to the guy, he was smooth. They continued kissing and Johnny had just reached down to the waistband of Amelia's bikini bottoms when they were distracted by the sound of voices approaching.

Amelia and Johnny both instinctively jumped apart and sat up. The very same couple they had seen earlier in reception were now walking past them rather awkwardly. A very flustered Amelia grabbed her discarded bikini top and held it against her chest in an attempt to cover herself. The couple looked just as embarrassed as Amelia and they picked up their pace.

"Well that was embarrassing", Amelia blushed, once the couple were out of ear shot. "I guess we don't really have the place to ourselves after all."

Johnny on the other hand was clearly struggling to contain his laughter as he watched the couple walk away. "That was hilarious. Did you see their faces?"

"No PJ, I was a little preoccupied with the fact that they just saw me naked", Amelia replied. Her face was still bright red.

"Aw come on. You weren't completely naked", he reasoned, putting his arm around Amelia once she had secured her bikini top.

"Yeah, well it's probably a good job they walked past when they did," Amelia shrugged. "I can't believe we got so carried away." She stood up.

"You don't want to have sex on the beach with me?" Johnny looked up at her, pretending to be disappointed.

"I think we both need to cool off", Amelia told him, before making her way down to the water.

"Hey, you never answered my question!" Johnny jumped up and hurried after her.

Later that afternoon while Amelia was sunbathing, her mind started to wander back to her conversation with Rick at Laura and Jeff's wedding. She wondered if he would drop his conspiracy theory by the time they returned to the office, or if the staff would be in for an eventful start to the year. Although she had assured Rick that she was no prepared to spy on Johnny, she decided there was no harm in discussing the matter with him. Perhaps by hearing it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, she could convince Rick that he was overreacting.

"PJ." Amelia leaned over to Johnny who was lying on his back beside her, his head in a book.

Johnny slowly lowered the book and took off his shades to look at Amelia. "What's up?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Johnny grinned at her.

"Alright smart arse." Amelia playfully tapped him on the shoulder. "This is probably going to sound silly, but I was just thinking about something Rick said."

"Kosick? This should be good. He's such a gossip", Johnny laughed, putting his book down to pay Amelia his full attention.

"Yeah, so we were talking to him at the wedding and he was convinced that the studio have asked you, Jeff and Spike for another movie." Amelia shrugged casually, making sure it did not sound as if she believed what Rick had said.

Johnny widened his eyes in surprise. Luckily, to Amelia it appeared that he was surprised that Rick would think such a thing, but in reality he was far more surprised that Rick was spot on. How could he have known?

"What would make him think that?" Johnny asked, trying to mask the concern in his voice.

Amelia shrugged again. "He put it down to all your 'secret' meetings and the four year gap between the last two films."

Johnny laughed awkwardly. He hated lying to Amelia, but he saw no point in telling her that Rick was right. Not only would it cause more problems, but the chances of them actually going ahead with another movie were so slim it was practically negligible.

"Good old Rick eh", Johnny smiled.

"We told him he was wrong, but he was having none of it", Amelia laughed, settling back down to continue sun bathing. She felt more relaxed knowing that Rick had been wrong.

Johnny returned to his book, trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing. He was sure that Bam was going to refuse to do another movie, which meant that Amelia and the others would never need to know that it had ever been on the cards.

"Do you think there ever will be anymore Jackass?" Amelia asked him after a few moments of silence.

"I really don't know", Johnny replied truthfully.

A few days later, Amelia and Johnny saw in their second new year together. It had been exactly a year since they had finally admitted their true feelings to one another and Johnny had decided to celebrate the occasion with a candle lit meal for two, overlooking the sea.

"This is so romantic Johnny", Amelia gasped as he led her to the table that had been set up by the hotel staff.

"I'm glad you like it", Johnny smiled. They sat down and the waiter poured them a glass of wine. "I wanted to do something a bit special."

"I can't believe how fast this year has gone." Amelia took a sip of wine and smiled at Johnny.

"It's been kind of crazy huh?"

Amelia nodded. "Just a bit."

Johnny reached out and took her hand. "It's been the best year of my life, even if it took us half the year to get our act together."

Amelia laughed slightly. "I know it took us a while to get together and it's a shame we wasted so much time, but I really wouldn't change a thing", she told him, staring into his eyes.

"Neither would I." Johnny squeezed her hand. "And things are only going to get better from now on. I promise."

"I can't wait." Amelia grinned at him. Bam and the custody case were the furthest things from her mind at that moment and she couldn't be happier. "I love you PJ. I'm so glad we found each other. You make me so happy and I know I can trust you, no matter what. "

"I love you too Amelia. We were meant to be", he assured her, but at the back of his mind the guilt of lying to her was starting to gnaw away at him.


	30. Puppet Master

True to his word, when they arrived back in West Chester after the wedding, Phil ensured that he and April moved out of Castle Bam. April had been quick to spot her son's war wounds after his fight with Knoxville, but she seemingly thought better than to ask of their origin and Bam was not about to volunteer that information. Phil had tried to assure his wife that Bam was perfectly responsible but the cut lip and bruises on her son's face said otherwise. By the time they had boarded their flight home, April and Bam had resumed their previous unspoken agreement of barely talking to one another, unless it was really necessary.

With his mother finally off his case, Bam was happy that he could now go back to his chosen way of life; spending his nights partying and his days in bed. In fact, as soon as he returned, parent-free, to the castle, he invited half the town over for an especially extravagant party, which ended up lasting for two weeks. It was fortunate that April had not decided to pay him a visit during this time, or she surely would have tried taking matters into her own hands once again.

Although the marathon party had finally ended a few days ago, Bam had just woken up from a particularly heavy night of drinking when his phone began to ring. His manager's name appeared on the caller ID and Bam sighed, knowing he would have to take this.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Bam croaked. His throat was sore from too many cigarettes.

"Bam. I've just had a call from Dickhouse. Remember hey want you out in LA in two weeks time." Danny sounded annoyingly chirpy for so early in the afternoon.

"I suppose this is to try and get me on board for another movie, right?" Bam sighed, sitting up lethargically. He had known for a while that a meeting was on the cards and he remembered Jeff saying something about it at the wedding, but Bam had been too wasted to listen properly.

"Spike was a little hazy on the details." Danny paused. "Look Bam, I know you've gone through a rough patch with them, but I really think you should consider this. At least go over there and hear them out."

"I know your game Danny," Bam scoffed, reaching for his discarded pack of cigarettes. "You just want to make sure your paycheques keep rolling in."

"Well yes, there is that", Danny sighed. "But I do have your best interests at heart. You know you really can't afford to pass up this opportunity."

Bam groaned and rubbed his head. The hangover was well and truly kicking in. "Okay. I'll listen to what they have to say, but I'm not promising anything." Bam knew exactly where he stood on the matter of making another movie, and right now the ball was in Knoxville's court. He did not mention this to Danny, however.

"Great. You're doing the right thing you know", Danny assured him, enthusiastically.

"Yeah yeah, when do they want me?" Bam flopped back down onto his back.

"Erm, the 28th", Danny told him.

"That's a shame. My custody hearing is the 31st." Bam smiled to himself at the convenience of the timing. Danny knew full well that if Bam was going to LA he would have to spend at least a week there, catching up with his various acquaintances.

"Oh shit yeah", Danny remembered, a little flustered. "I'll see if they can rearrange..."

Bam cut him off. "No, tell Jeff I'll be there. I'll reschedule the hearing instead."

The line went silent for a few moments until Danny finally spoke up. "Seriously Bam?" He sounded as if he was in disbelief. "It would be a lot easier just to ask Dickhouse..."

"Seriously", Bam smiled to himself again. There was nothing like reminding his wife just who called the shots, both within and out of their marriage. "Can you speak to my solicitor and arrange it for sometime in February?"

"No problem", Danny sighed, choosing not to question his client. He had worked with Bam for long enough to know that it was impossible to change his mind.

Johnny was just dozing off with his head resting on his desk when he was disturbed by Jeff bounding into the office and slamming the door behind him. A man of Jeff's stature should not bound, skip or leap anywhere, Johnny thought, for fear of causing some kind of damage.

"Jesus Christ, did a buffalo just stampede through the office?" Johnny lifted his head up to look at Jeff. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Both Johnny and Amelia and Jeff and Laura had only been back from their respective holidays for couple of days and already the two men were back at work.

"Haha, you're not funny PJ", Jeff retorted, collapsing into his chair on the other side of the desk and putting his feet up.

"I was trying to sleep until the elephant man came charging into my office", Johnny groaned, stretching back in his own chair to try and wake himself up. "What's got you so cheerful?"

"I've just spoken to Spike. Bam's manager rang back to confirm that Bam's flying out for the meeting on the 28th." Jeff folded his arms, looking pleased with himself.

"Really?" Johnny failed to hide his surprise. He had assumed that after their encounter at the wedding, Bam would go out of his way to make things difficult for Johnny.

"I know, I was a little surprised myself at how smooth things are going", Jeff admitted. "I really didn't expect Bam to be so cooperative. We're just waiting to hear from Dave and Preston and then it's a full house." The plan was to reunite the whole gang and tell them about the movie at the same time.

"I know it's a long shot, but with any luck between the twelve of us, we might be able to talk Bam, into the movie and out of the custody case at the same time."

Jeff was smiling but Johnny struggled to match his enthusiasm. He still hadn't told anyone about Bam's ultimatum. On the one hand he was hoping that what Bam had said had just been the beer talking, but at the same time, Johnny had a nasty feeling that he and Bam were going to come to blows once more before the whole messy situation was resolved. After all, it was not Amelia or Jeff that Bam had the problem with. It was him.

"So I was thinking we should have ourselves a few beers tonight to celebrate." Jeff grinned, putting his arms behind his head.

"To celebrate what exactly?" Johnny frowned. "I wasn't aware that we had achieved anything yet."

"Oh come on sourpuss. We don't need an excuse to have a few beers", Jeff laughed, throwing a tennis ball in Johnny's direction. "What's wrong with you?"

Johnny shrugged. "I just feel bad about all this sneaking around and keeping secrets. You know Kosick already suspects us of planning another movie." He instinctively lowered his voice as if he was worried that someone might be listening in.

"Kosick's always been paranoid", Jeff laughed. "It's not as if we're being malicious in keeping this from everyone", he reminded Johnny. "We just don't want them to be disappointed if it doesn't happen, and look at this way, in two weeks time we'll either be able to tell everyone the good news, or forget the whole idea", Jeff added.

"I know you're right", Johnny sighed. "Which makes a change."

While Johnny was at work, Amelia and Brandon were spending some quality time at the park. Although she had thoroughly enjoyed her holiday with Johnny, she was glad to be reunited with her son. She was determined to make up for leaving him with Rose and Ryan for two whole weeks; something she felt very guilty about.

It was late afternoon and they were just about to return to the apartment, when Amelia received a phone call from Harry. She had learnt that whenever his name popped up on her caller ID or inbox, she was probably not going to like what she heard. Harry certainly had no qualms about giving her bad news at the drop of a hat.

Amelia stopped pushing Brandon in the swing and answered her phone anxiously. "Hello?"

"Hi Amelia, happy New Year! How are you doing?"

"I'm fine thanks Harry, how are you?" She wished he would cut to the chase. Harry rarely indulged in courtesy calls.

"I'm great babe. Look, I've got some news and I don't think you're going to like it."

Amelia held her breath, her worst fears confirmed. This was definitely not going to be good news. "What is it?" She asked fearfully. She could only imagine what trick Bam had pulled this time.

"I've just received an email from West Chester, informing me that the hearing's been moved," Harry told her gently. "It's been rescheduled for the end of February."

"What!" Amelia exclaimed indignantly, unable to help herself. "Why has it been moved?" She demanded. Brandon turned around in the swing to look at his mother's angry face and laughed.

"They were vague on the details I'm afraid, but from the gist of it, it sounds like your husband's conflicting schedule is to blame...something to do with a business trip that could not be rearranged."

"That's bullshit!" Amelia shouted, forgetting herself in front of her son. "Bam doesn't go on business trips, he goes on benders!" Amelia paused, trying to calm herself down. "I'm sorry Harry. I was just looking forward to getting this sorted once and for all."

"I know, I'm sorry too," Harry said sincerely. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do but wait it out."

Amelia bit her lip, trying to hold back tears of frustration. Once again Bam had proved himself to be an immense arsehole. She knew that he was only doing this to get to her. Well this time it had worked. She wiped away a stray tear.

"Thanks for letting me know Harry. Is there anything else I need to do in the meantime?"

"Well there is one other issue, but I feel it might be better for you to come into the office to discuss this." Harry sounded sympathetic, which did not fill Amelia with confidence.

"I don't like the sound of that", Amelia replied nervously. "It's Bam again isn't it? How bad is it?"

"It's bad, Harry admitted. "Can you and PJ come in today?"

"Johnny's at work, but I can stop by anytime", Amelia said, anxiously. As much as she needed to know what she was up against, part of her didn't even want to imagine what Bam was capable of.

"Great. I don't have any meetings for the rest of the day so I'll be ready waiting for you", Harry told her.

"I'm on my way."

Amelia made it to Harry's office from the park in less than fifteen minutes. An impressive feat but largely down to the fact that she had ran a red light and flaunted the speed limit for most of the short journey. It was lucky she had her old car back.

"Where we going mommy?" Brandon asked curiously from his child seat in the back of the car. He could sense from erratic Amelia's behaviour that something was not right.

"We're going to find out just how much of a bastard you father is", Amelia sighed. She did not have the energy or inclination to sweeten the truth for the two year old.

"What's 'bastard'?" Brandon replied. Amelia chose to ignore this question.

When Amelia and Brandon arrived in the reception, Cathy was expecting them. "Oh he's adorable!" she smiled down at Brandon while Amelia signed in.

Amelia felt slightly vulnerable following Cathy down the corridor to Harry's office. This was the first time she had been here without Johnny. She could have really done with his support right now, but she didn't want to bother him while he was so busy at work. Anyway, she was a grown woman. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself, right?

"Hi Amelia, hello Brandon." Harry embraced Amelia in a friendly hug and bent down to shake Brandon's hand. For such an intimidating man of law, Harry was really great with kids, Amelia had often thought.

"Thanks for seeing me this late", Amelia smiled nervously as she sat Brandon down on an empty chair and pulled a colouring book out of her hand bag to occupy the toddler.

"It's really no problem." Harry smiled as Amelia sat down opposite him. "I feel this may be a delicate matter, best discussed in person rather than over the phone."

Amelia swallowed nervously and clenched her hands together, waiting to hear the damage. "Is this about the hearing or the divorce?" She wondered.

"It's the divorce", Harry replied, matter-of-factly. "Obviously now that the hearing has been pushed back, it's going to take longer to process the divorce, but there's something else. We finally received a reply from your husband's lawyers. Mr Margera has objected to your grounds for divorce. He claims that you committed adultery."


	31. The Final Straw

After finishing work that evening, Johnny decided to surprise Amelia at her apartment before going out with Jeff. He had not heard from her all day, which was mainly down to him being so busy in the office. He figured he would pick her up some flowers to make up for it.

When Johnny arrived at her apartment, he found Amelia fast asleep on the living room sofa with Brandon in her arms. A chick flick was playing on the TV and Johnny smiled to himself as he approached the sofa silently. Brandon woke up just as Johnny sat down beside them, so he put a finger to his lips. Unfortunately this did not have the desired effect, and the toddler started laughing.

Amelia's eyes flickered open as Brandon struggled to climb out of her arms. Her cheeks were smudged with makeup and Johnny assumed she must have been crying at the film.

"Hey beautiful", Johnny whispered, putting the bouquet of flowers down on the table. Brandon scrambled towards him to give Johnny a big hug.

Amelia smiled and straightened up. "Sorry I must have dosed off", she apologised, watching Johnny scoop Brandon into his arms. "It's a nice surprise to see you. I've kind of had a rough day."

"What's wrong?" Johnny frowned.

Amelia proceeded to inform him about her meeting with Harry. "Basically, Bam's contesting the divorce because he thinks I cheated on him with you", she sighed, wiping her tired eyes. She had spent the rest of the afternoon in tears after speaking to Harry. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, was going wrong.

"That's a load of crap. We didn't sleep together until you'd left him." Johnny looked indignant.

"We know that, but no one else does", Amelia shrugged.

Johnny looked at her in confusion. "Ok, but how does that affect the divorce?"

"I can either accept what Bam's saying and the divorce will go through, but it will make Bam look like the innocent party and make me out to be the one who slept around...even though we both know that's not true", she added after seeing the look of anger on Johnny's face. "Or I can contest it and go to court." Amelia sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. She was left with an impossible decision. She could either fight Bam to the bitter end, or accept his claim just for an easy life.

"The problem is, if I accept what Bam is saying, that the breakdown of the marriage is my fault, it's going to make me look bad when it comes to the custody case", she told Johnny. "Not to mention the press will have a field day if they hear that we were supposedly having an affair."

Amelia could tell from his silence that Johnny was stumped.

"Oh and I forgot to mention, Bam has also decided to reschedule the court hearing over the custody. So I've got to wait another six weeks to get that sorted", Amelia added bitterly.

"Why has he done that?"

"Conflicting schedule apparently", Amelia shrugged. "So as you can see, I'm spending the rest of the evening, and probably the week, feeling sorry for myself. As soon as I put Brandon to bed I'm hitting the vodka." She was not entirely sure if she was joking.

Johnny frowned. Bam was flying out to LA to meet with them several days before the hearing was supposed to have taken place. He could only assume that this was the reason for Bam changing the date and he felt simultaneously angry and guilty. If Amelia found out she was going to be incredibly pissed. He wondered what he could possibly do to make things better, if anything.

Johnny reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. His mind was racing as he contemplated how messy things had become. "Well you know what they say, things can only get better."

Amelia smiled tentatively. "Well they sure as hell can't get any worse."

After hearing Amelia's revelation, Johnny did not much feel like going out with Jeff, especially as Bam rearranging the custody hearing was practically their fault. Instead, he opted to spend the night in with Amelia. They ordered take out and worked their way through her collection of soppy films, anything that would take her mind off her soon to be ex husband.

During the months since Ryan had left Castle Bam and moved in with Rose, he had tried his best to remain close to Bam. As close as possible that is, taking into consideration the emotional barriers of drinking and partying, that Bam seemed to have put up. The two men continued to hang out every now and then, but it was difficult around Bam's new friends. Ryan felt alienated from them, purely because he actually had something going for him. Rose.

Ryan had been trying his best to turn a blind eye to Bam's impossible behaviour, but when Rose got off the phone from her sister one afternoon, upset and worried about Amelia, he realised his relationship with Bam had reached the final straw. If Bam was seriously going to maintain that he was innocent and that Amelia had been having an affair, then he was mistaken for thinking that he could still call Ryan his friend. Ryan might not have known the full story between Amelia and Knoxville's relationship, but he knew them both well enough to be sure that they had never gone behind Bam's back.

Ryan jumped in his car and raced through town towards the castle. There was no need to rehearse what he wanted to say, or try to sound as diplomatic as possible. This time Ryan was going to give it to Bam straight. As much as he hated confrontation, it was time for him to make his feelings clear. He was done with sitting on the fence, trying to keep everyone happy. If Bam thought he was going to stick by him this time, then he was sorely mistaken.

When Ryan arrived at the edge of his friend's land, the gates were open, so he put his foot down and sped up the driveway, skidding to a halt in front of the familiar building. Although it had been a good four months since Ryan had moved out, this did not stop him from storming into the building, unannounced and making his way through the house in search of Bam.

Eventually Ryan found Bam in the hobbit hole. The sight that met his eyes only served to confirm to Ryan that he was doing the right thing by breaking ties with Bam. Through the dense smoke that had filled the small room, he could make out the shapes of Bam, Novak and a few other guys that Ryan vaguely recognised from Bam's frequent parties. They were lounging on the sofas with unfamiliar and barely clad women, if you could call them women, draped over them. Novak was holding a joint in his hand.

The floor was scattered with discarded beer bottles and cigarette ends. No one seemed to have noticed Ryan and he continued to watch in disbelief as one of the women started to prepare lines of coke on the table in the middle of the room.

Ryan was just about to back out and leave when Novak took off his sunglasses and spotted him. "Yo Dunn! Have you come to join the party?" His voice was raspy and now that Ryan could see his eyes he could tell that Novak was completely spaced out. It was a wonder he had recognised him at all. Ryan stared at the scene in disgust.

"Dunn's here?" Bam sounded surprise and looked around slowly to find his friend. When he finally found himself looking at Ryan he pulled off his own shades. He too was as high as a kite. "Hey Dunn!"

"What the fuck is this Bam?" Ryan sighed. He no longer had the inclination to waste his energy on Bam. It was evident that he had gone too far this time and there was nothing Ryan could do.

"What does it look like? It's a party!" Bam exclaimed happily, emptying his bottle of beer and throwing it at the opposite wall, where it smashed into pieces. Bam looked pleased with himself.

"What's happened to you dude?" Ryan shook his head. In all the years he had known Bam, he had never seen him like this. Sure, they had experimented with drugs when they were teenagers and they had shared the odd joint from time to time, but he had thought that was the extent of it. It seemed he had been wrong.

"You need to chill out man, have some of this." Novak held out the joint to Ryan, but Ryan ignored him.

"I don't know why I even bothered", Ryan looked sadly at Bam before turning on his heel and making his way back.

"What do you want from me Dunn?" Bam shouted after him.

Ryan ignored him and continued walking. He just wanted to get back to his car and get away from the place as fast as possible. Castle Bam had once held so many fond memories for him, but it was now beginning to seem more like a nightmare.

"I said, what do you want from me?" Bam shouted again, once Ryan had nearly reached his car.

Ryan turned round to see Bam trying to catch up with him so he stopped in his tracks and faced him. "I came here to tell you that I'm done with this. I'm done with you Bam", Ryan sighed heavily. "It was bad enough that you fucked up your relationship with Amelia but now you're fucking up your whole life and everyone else's."

"That's right Dunn, why don't you tell it to me straight", Bam cackled and swayed from side to side. The effects of the drugs were clearly still going strong.

"I don't know why I'm even bothering to waste my breath", Ryan shook his head. "Can't you see what a joke you've become? I'm here to tell you that I don't want anything to do with you anymore. I don't want people to think I'm like you or that I agree with what you're doing. And I'm certainly not going to stand back and watch you try to ruin Amelia's life."

"She asked for it", Bam retorted. He sounded more sober but Ryan still wasn't sure if he had listened or understood anything that he had just said.

"Don't be ridiculous Bam. You might have everyone else fooled but I know you too well. It's the same old story. You got bored of Amelia, so you treated her like shit and now your pissed because she's found somebody who actually treats her right and loves her far more than you ever possibly could", Ryan stared coldly at Bam and folded his arms. "To put it quite simply Bam, you're jealous. You're acting like a child and Amelia's the toy. You didn't want to play with, but now that Knoxville's got her, you've decided you want her back."

Bam stood silently as Ryan continued his impassioned speech. His head was beginning to clear and he had regained some of his balance.

"What you're doing is pathetic and unfair, and I can't be around you anymore." With that, Ryan walked away and climbed into his car. As he started the engine he realised that he felt a hell of a lot better now that he had released so much pent up anger.

"Have a nice life Bam", Ryan shouted as he drove away.

Bam stood perfectly still as he watched Ryan's car disappear down the driveway. The funny thing was, Bam thought, Ryan would probably never know how close he had been to the truth.


	32. All in a Day's Work

When Ryan returned home to Rose shortly after his confrontation with Bam, he still felt stressed, frustrated and angry. He couldn't believe the levels that Bam had fallen to and he was struggling to shake away the images of the drug-fuelled gathering he had just interrupted. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

Rose could sense Ryan's distress as soon as he entered the room. "I guess it didn't go well", she sighed gently, watching Ryan collapse onto the sofa with a beer.

"I can't believe him." Ryan shook his head in disbelief. "It's like he just doesn't give a shit about anything anymore. He didn't seem bothered in the slightest when I told him I was done. "

Rose frowned as she sat down beside him. "He's not your problem now babe." She squeezed his arm, reassuringly.

"I know. I guess I just feel bad because he was my brother and there's nothing I can do. I feel like I've let him down somehow."

"Don't be silly Ry. You've not let him down. You've put far more effort in than anyone else and he's just taken it for granted. Maybe now he'll realise that you're not always going to be around for him and that he needs to sort himself out."

"You think?"

"Yes." Rose nodded understandingly. "The only person who can help Bam now is himself."

"You're right", Ryan told her. "I just hope he realises that before it's too late. It's like he's on a path to self destruction."

No matter what her feelings were regarding her brother in law, she hated to see Ryan so torn up like this. She wished there was more she could do to make him feel better. "Let's change the subject huh?" Rose suggested with a smile as she started to stroke his hair.

"Ok", Ryan agreed. He kissed her cheek.

Rose smiled and snuggled up to him. Now that Ryan had cut his ties with Bam, perhaps she would be able to convince him to move to LA so that they could be closer to Amelia and her nephew. Spending so much time there over the Christmas holiday had given Rose the urge to love there permanently. The only problem was that she knew how attached Ryan was to West Chester. If only she could persuade him that they needed a fresh start, away from the path of destruction that Bam was creating.

"Things are going to get better now. I promise", Rose told him confidently.

Ryan smiled as he buried his face in Rose's hair. She was right, and now he was sure that it would soon be time to have an important conversation with Rose's big sister.

Once Ryan had left, Bam did not feel much like returning to the hobbit hole. His buzz was wearing off and he'd been left with a lot to think about. Instead he retreated to the house, grabbing a beer from the fridge before slumping in front of the TV. As he flicked through the channels he thought about Ryan and tried to work out just where their friendship had gone wrong.

The two men had been growing apart for quite a while, but Bam had always blamed it on Dunn's relationship with Amelia's sister. There was definitely a conflict of interests there. How was Dunn supposed to keep an open mind when Rose was drilling into him how much of a terrible person Bam was? It was not fair. He would never admit it to anybody, but Bam had been upset when Ryan moved out of the castle. Perhaps he should have made more effort to stay close to his friend. Apparently he wasn't interested in parties and getting high. Bam could remember a time when Ryan had been up for a party just as much as the next person. Now it was like he was a different person and Bam was confident that it was because of Rose. She was just like her sister and if he wasn't careful, Rose would do to Ryan exactly what Amelia had done to Bam. He was sure of it.

Try as he might though, Bam could not lay the blame entirely on Ryan and his new relationship. He couldn't help but admit to himself that everything Ryan had just said was right. He was far too concerned with trying to make life difficult for Amelia. She had hurt him and now he wanted her to feel the pain. The problem was that he was slowly but surely destroying his own life in the process. The endless drinking and drug taking, weeklong parties and casual, meaningless sex was going to send him to an early grave and as far as Bam was concerned, there was nothing anyone could to stop him.

Bam was disturbed from his thoughts by someone entering the room. He looked up to see Terri standing by the doorway in a pretty dress and with a huge scowl on her face. Bam silently groaned. She was not happy.

"Hey", Bam remarked casually, not taking his eyes from the screen as he drank his beer.

"Hi." Terri stared at him, her scowl still firmly in place. "What's going on? You were supposed to meet me in town."

"Oh shit, I forgot", Bam shrugged, still staring at the TV. "I was busy." To be perfectly honest he could not care less that their 'date' had slipped his mind.

Terri walked over to the sofa and took a seat beside him. "It's ok", she smiled, her expression softened as she started rubbing his arm affectionately. "I know what a busy guy you are. Let's go out now, yeah?"

Bam ignored her for a few moments, until her staring expectantly at him became somewhat annoying. "I don't really feel like going out now", he told her, honestly as he started to light a cigarette.

"But you promised that we could go out, to celebrate your divorce!" Terri whined.

Her high pitched tones made Bam shudder. He had not exactly been one hundred percent truthful with Terri. The pretty, but also fairly dim woman had once been great for a bit of uncommitted, extra-marital fun for Bam, but now that Amelia was out of the picture, Terri seemed to feel some kind of entitlement. Seeing as Bam was no longer in a relationship she believed it meant they were officially an item. Bam could not think of anything worse.

In a bid to keep her happy, he had told her that he was finalising his divorce with Amelia so that they could finally be together. His plan had worked so far and the promise of divorce had certainly kept Terri quiet. Until now, that is.

"I said I don't feel like it now", Bam repeated angrily. He could still not bring himself to look at her.

Terri did not seem to get the hint. After a few minutes of moaning she decided, to Bam's frustration, that she would stay in with him instead. He tried to concentrate on the television show, but all her could hear was Terri jabbering away beside him, making his headache even worse.

Bam could take it no longer. "You need to go", he told her firmly, looking her straight in the eye so that she could tell her was serious.

Terri ignored him to begin with, but when he continued to stare at her, her bottom lip began to tremble. "What?" She looked at him with sad, puppy dog eyes.

"I said you need to go", Bam repeated harshly. He was losing patience fast.

"But Bam..." Terri stammered.

"Go. Just fucking get out!" Bam snapped, standing up suddenly.

Terri rose to her feet. "I don't understand. What's the matter Bam?" She looked worried. "Don't you want to be with me?"

Bam sighed loudly. "No. No I really don't. You're needy and pathetic and I've had enough of you. So get out of my house."

Terri stared intently at Bam. He was sure she was about to burst into tears, but instead her expression hardened. "Are you finishing with me?" She asked, perfectly calmly.

"Yes." Bam sighed with relief, glad that she seemed to get the message. "Yes I am."

Terri swung her handbag over her shoulder and straightened her dress. "Fine", she pursed her lips. "If that's what you want." She hesitated for a moment, seeing if he would change his mind.

There was no chance if that happening. "It is", he assured her, running a hand through his greasy hair.

"You're only leaving me because you're still in love with that bitch Amelia", Terri spat.

Bam laughed her off. "Yeah, right. I thought I told you to leave"

Terri remained firmly in place. "It's obvious you still want her Bam. Why else would you still have her picture in your bedroom?" She paused to take in his reaction.

Bam frowned at her, unsure whether she was lying to him. Bam kept his bedroom door permanently locked. No one but him ever went in there. Whenever Terri stayed over they used a guest bedroom. "You haven't been in my room."

Terri laughed at him. "Oh I've been in there. I've seen the picture on your bedside table. You think you can keep your memories and feelings for her shut up in that room where no one else can see them. It's pathetic. You're not fooling anyone Bam."

"You're lying", Bam told her confidently. He was the only person with a key to the room. There was no way she could have been inside.

"Oh really? Well how did I get this then?" Terri's hand rose to her neck. She touched the tiny heart shaped charm on the end of the silver chain that was hanging around her slender neck.

Bam's stomach flipped and he felt bile rise in his throat. "How the hell did you get that!" He demanded, seeing red as he charged towards her.

"So now do you believe me?" Terri smirked, but before she could say anything else Bam had grabbed the chain and pulled it violently from her neck. The clasp snapped under the force of his hand and the necklace came away easily. Terri gasped, holding her neck as if she had been burnt.

"You had no fucking right to go in there and take this." Bam thrust the necklace, which was now safely balled in his fist, in front of her. "You fucking skank."

Terri seemed to recover from the shock quickly and composed herself. "I told you. It's obvious you still have feelings for her. That's why you kept the necklace."

"None of this has anything to do with you", Bam shouted louder than he had intended. "Now get the fuck out of my house you thieving whore!"

"You'll regret this", Terri told him bitterly, showing no signs of leaving.

Bam assumed she was trying to threaten him, but he was not going to rise to her. "Go."

"I mean it Bam", she continued. "Don't think I'm going to let you get away with this. I've been waiting around for you for years. You can't just waste my time like that."

Bam ignored her, hoping she would hurry up and finish her speech, leaving him in peace. It seemed to work and with a final scowl in his direction, Terri turned on her ridiculously high heel and stormed away, cursing under her breath.

Well done Bam, that's one more relationship you've destroyed, he thought to himself. All in a day's work.


	33. Can of Worms

Johnny had spent a restless night, tossing and turning, doubting his decision to withhold the truth from Amelia. She had a right to know what was happening, both in terms of the potential next movie and also the deal that Bam had offered at Jeff's wedding. He hated keeping secrets and he was sure that until the truth was out he would have plenty more sleepless nights.

Amelia was still sleeping soundly beside him in the bed of her apartment. It was Saturday and neither of them needed to be at work so she was enjoying the chance for a lie in, before Brandon woke of course. Johnny could not bring himself to look away from her as he watched her sleep. Every day he was grateful that she was finally his, and he couldn't wait to be able to wake up next to her each and every morning for the rest of his life. It was stupid to risk their happiness. Nothing was worth that.

After a while, Amelia stirred. She opened her eyes to find Johnny smiling down at her. "Morning", she grinned, shuffling closer to him.

"Hey sleepyhead", Johnny laughed, wrapping his arms around her and burying his head in her warm next.

"Can we stay in bed today?" Amelia asked Johnny just before they heard Brandon shouting.

"I guess he just answered your question", Johnny joked, kissing her cheek before they simultaneously climbed out of bed.

After getting Brandon up, Amelia met Johnny in the kitchen, where he had just poured them cups of coffee and was making breakfast. The three of them ate their breakfast quietly, before Brandon ran off to start playing with his toys. Amelia smiled at Johnny across the table.

The time was now, Johnny decided. He would tell her everything now and then they could get on with enjoying the rest of their weekend. Johnny was just about to open his mouth when the apartment buzzer started to ring. It looked like he would just have to wait.

Amelia's visitor turned out to be Steve.

"Hey guys", Steve bounded into the room and took a seat at the kitchen table. Amelia poured him a glass of water, taking into consideration his new healthy life style.

The three adults briefly exchanged pleasantries before Steve revealed his real reason for dropping in. A magazine.

Amelia's stomach sank as Steve passed the glossy weekly publication across the table. It had been folded over to mark the page in question. She could tell whatever it was, it was going to be bad and her sixth sense told her that it would more than likely have something to do with her husband.

"I don't think you're going to like this", Steve grimaced, looking from Amelia to Johnny slightly apprehensively as she looked at the page. "I brought it round as soon as Josie showed me. Its better you find out sooner..."

Amelia stopped listening to Steve and stared at the article in horror. Although the column of writing was fairly concise, the article itself took up an entire double page spread. The space had been filled with pictures of Amelia, Johnny and Bam. She had been right. With great reluctance, Amelia started reading.

_To most people he is known as the daredevil and prankster extraordinaire of MTV's popular show _Jackass_, but _Entertainment News Today_ can exclusively reveal that Johnny Knoxville does not confine his wild, obnoxious antics to when the cameras are rolling. _

_Over the past few months there has been plenty of speculation over the relationship between Knoxville, 35, and the wife of his co star and close friend, Bam Margera. Margera, 27, of _Jackass_ and _Viva La Bam_ fame, and British girlfriend Amelia Jones, 25, wed in May of 2008 after the birth of their son Brandon Margera Junior, now 2. Their marriage was short lived, with the couple splitting early last year. _

_Since the breakdown of the marriage, Knoxville, who himself is divorced with a young teenage daughter, and Jones have been repeatedly spotted in public together, most notably at several Hollywood film premieres, including that of their close friend and _Jackass_ co-producer Spike Jonze._

_Despite initial claims that they were 'just good friends', over the past few months the two have become very close, as our pictures reveal, with Knoxville spotted bonding with Brandon Junior and Jones spending lots of time at Knoxville's LA mansion. _

_Putting an end to the rumours once and for all, a reliable source close to Mr Margera has shockingly disclosed to _Entertainment News Today_, that Knoxville and Jones were, in actual fact, having an affair that began before the birth of Jones' and Margera's son. This of course, would raise questions over the paternity of the child, who has been living with his mother in LA since the split last year. Our source can also confirm that as a result of his wife's affair; Margera has filed for divorce and is taking Jones to court over the custody of the child._

_As for Bam Margera, his years of partying are clearly catching up with him. He was spotted out in his home town of West Chester, PA, earlier this week looking worse for wear. It has been suggested that he has taken his wild lifestyle to another extreme, this time indulging in illegal drugs. Our source tells us that his parents, April and Phil Margera, who can be seen featuring in both _Jackass_ and _Viva La Bam, _are keen for him to check into rehab._

Amelia felt as if she had been hit by a ton of bricks and she silently passed the magazine to Johnny. She was unable to find her voice, or even move as Johnny quickly read the article himself.

"What the fuck is this!" Johnny spat, when he had finished reading. "This is the biggest load of shit I have ever read", he continued, answering his own question.

"I know dude", Steve agreed. He had sensed the tension in the room as his friends read the article and was now prepared for it to erupt.

Amelia continued to sit in a state of shock and silence as Johnny started to pick the article apart, piece by piece. She couldn't understand how someone could have twisted the truth to such an extent.

"Reliable source!" Johnny exclaimed, mockingly. "This is a gossip magazine. They don't know the meaning of the phrase." He put his hand on Amelia's knee, but she wasn't sure who he was trying to comfort more, Amelia or himself. "I can't believe they've had the nerve to question who Brandon's father is", he added with disgust.

Both Steve and Johnny turned to look at Amelia as she still had not said a word. As far as they were concerned she was a ticking time bomb.

"Amelia?" Johnny nudged her tentatively.

She shook her head. "Sorry I was in a world of my own for a second. I guess it's the shock."

Johnny nodded and put his arm around her protectively.

"I suppose it doesn't matter what I do about the divorce now. Everyone is going to think I cheated on him, so what's the point..."

Johnny cut her off. "No. You're not going to give up so easily Amelia. That's exactly what he wants." He looked her in the eye and took her hand. "We're not going to let him win this time", Johnny told her firmly, squeezing her hand. "I'm going to call Harry. This article is pure slander and he can stop it."

Amelia nodded half heartedly. She was sure that Harry would do his best when it came to damage limitation, but there was no amount of legal power in the world that could un-print the story. This reporter had just opened a huge can of worms. She picked the magazine back up, even more reluctantly this time. Who would have thought those little words would be capable of holding so much power. She shifted her focus to the pictures.

The photographs of her and Johnny had been taken without them knowing. The two of them looked very much the loved up couple, laughing and kissing, blissfully unaware that there were cameras lurking. There were a few pictures of Johnny carrying Brandon and anyone who didn't know might have thought he was simply a doting father. Some of the shots went back as far as the filming of the second Jackass movie. Although these pictures were perfectly innocent, both Johnny and Amelia looked very happy in one another's company, with Bam nowhere to be seen. Amelia had to hand it to the reporter, the choice of pictures certainly backed up their claims.

"Do you really think that this came from Bam?" Amelia asked, after a few more minutes of consideration. "I mean, it doesn't exactly paint him out to be a hero in all of this, does it?"

"What do you mean?" Both Johnny and Steve frowned.

Amelia pointed to the handful of pictures of Bam looking rough and the paragraph at the end of the article, purporting that Bam was taking illegal drugs.

"Yeah I see your point", Steve agreed. "But who else could it have come from?"

Amelia shrugged. She honestly had no idea who else could be spiteful as to come up with all of these lies.

Johnny was still frowning. "It doesn't really matter who the source is. This spew of shit still obviously came from Bam's side, and that's good enough for me." He kissed Amelia roughly on the cheek, before he stood up determinedly and pulled out his cell phone to call Harry.

Meanwhile in West Chester there was a different kind of tension in the air. The storm that was brewing outside Castle Bam was nothing in comparison to the temper of April Margera, who was firmly inside the castle walls. Bam was sat on his sofa, wishing he was a million miles away from his mother, who was currently waving a certain magazine around in the air as if it was some sort of weapon.

"I cannot believe you Brandon Cole Margera!" She screeched, brandishing the magazine in front of his face. "Why would you come out with such bullshit!"

Bam refused to make eye contact with April. "It wasn't me", he mumbled to the floor, for all it was worth.

"What did you just say?" She stared down at him.

"I said it wasn't me!" He shouted this time in a bid to make himself heard over April's yelling. "I didn't speak to any reporters ok!"

"Don't you dare lie to me Bam", April warned him. "If it wasn't you then who the hell was it? Who would say those things?"

"I don't know", he shrugged, although in truth he had a pretty good idea of who might be to blame for the little publicity stunt. "Why would I say all that shit about me being on drugs?"

"I don't know Bam", April sighed. "Why would you do drugs in the first place? Lately nothing would surprise me."

Bam opened his mouth to object but April cut him off. "Oh and don't you even think about trying to deny it Bam. Ryan told me everything."

This time Bam did not bother to argue. Ryan had caught him fair and square and he couldn't blame him for telling April.

"As I was saying...if you didn't speak to any reporters then who did? You know your lawyers been on the phone to us about this. Johnny and Amelia could sue..."

"It was Terri", Bam shouted. "I dumped her the other day and this is obviously her way of making her feelings clear. She told me I would regret it", he sighed and scratched his head.

"Oh Bam." April slumped down onto the sofa beside him. "I told you that girl was trouble but you never listened."

Bam shrugged. It was a bit late to be criticising his choice of girlfriend now, but since when had that ever stopped April.

"I don't understand though. If she was mad at you why would she say all that rubbish about Amelia having an affair?" April frowned.

Bam did not really want to tell his mother that Terri was jealous of the feelings that he may or may not still have for Amelia, so he simply shrugged again.


	34. A Twist of Fate

As could only be expected, the article in 'Entertainment News Today' lead to a whole heap of unwanted attention for Amelia and Johnny, so much so that Amelia and Brandon went to stay with Laura and Jeff for a couple of days until the media frenzy had died down. Johnny's manager had issued a statement on behalf of the couple, setting the record straight, but this did not satiate the reporters' hunger for the slightest amount of gossip. Neither Johnny nor Amelia could leave their respective homes without being approached by at least a handful of journalists, desperate for the latest scoop. While Johnny was used to this treatment every now and then, for Amelia it was not a side effect of fame, it was an unwanted intrusion into her life. Johnny blamed the huge amount of interest on the fact that his latest film had just been released, coinciding with the season finale of Viva La Bam. Had Johnny and Bam not already been in the spotlight, there probably wouldn't have been so much of a buzz around the situation.

In the ensuing chaos, Johnny had been distracted from telling Amelia about Bam and the meeting, but under the present circumstances he figured it was best to let things cool down before he delivered her another bombshell. He wasn't sure her nerves could cope with any more unwanted surprises. Besides which, fate would have it that Johnny was soon to be on a flight to New York. He had been scheduled for an interview with a TV station since before Christmas, but in the midst of all the drama he had completely forgotten about it.

He broke the news to Amelia while stopping by Jeff's house after work. He and Amelia had agreed to keep a low profile while out in public until the press moved on to their next unfortunate target. Johnny tried his best to sneak round most evenings but it all felt a little ridiculous. They should not have to tread on eggshells, just because the paparazzi were out for their blood. As a temporary arrangement however, the set up was quite ideal, with Jeff driving Amelia to work and Laura looking after Brandon during the day.

Amelia was still trying to decide what to do about the divorce. Now that it seemed Bam had stooped to a whole new level she felt more determined than ever to fight him. To simply look the other way and sign on the dotted line would be giving into him too easily. She was not going to let Bam make her out to be a cheat, even if it would ultimately give her what she wanted: an end to the marriage. The problem was, however, she could still not convince herself that her husband was to blame for the article. There was no way Bam would paint such a negative picture of himself. Amelia knew him better than that.

"I'm sorry", Johnny sighed tiredly, leaning against Amelia as they sat together in Jeff and Laura's living room. "I'd cancel this interview if I could but right now I think we need this opportunity. You know, good press and everything?"

Amelia nodded slowly. "I wish you didn't have to go, but I know it's for the best." She rested her head on Johnny's shoulder wearily.

"It's only for a few days", he added, looking at her slightly anxiously. He felt guilty for leaving when she needed him the most. He had made the same mistake with his marriage to Mel, and look where that had gotten him.

All Amelia wanted to do was hide here safely in Johnny's arms til the storm had blown over, but she knew she was being a coward. "It'll be fine", Amelia smiled, this time reassuring him more than herself. "We're in good hands here", Amelia grinned at Jeff who had just entered the room.

"Don't worry PJ, I've got your backs", Jeff nodded as he cracked open a beer and sat down opposite the couple. "Don't let the hounds get you down."

"Thanks Jeff. Maybe one day we'll actually be able to have a drama free relationship", Johnny looked at Amelia apologetically.

Amelia's face softened. "Come on Mr Knoxville. I knew that 'drama-free' was never going to be on the cards when I signed up for this." Amelia reassured him with a firm kiss on the lips. "I'd take all the drama in the world if it means I get to be with you."

"You're amazing, do you know that?" Johnny grinned, nuzzling her cheek.

"No, tell me some more", Amelia joked, bumping him with her shoulder.

"I'll make it up to you when I get back", Johnny winked seductively before kissing her briefly but passionately.

"Oh cut it out you guys, I'm gonna throw up into my beer", Jeff teased.

Johnny's time in New York seemed to fly by and before he knew it he was spending his last night in the city before flying back to LA the next morning. The interview had gone fine and he had been relieved when there was no mention of his relationship with Amelia. Knowing that he would soon be reunited with Amelia made him feel restless, so he decided to hit one of the bars in the hope that it would help him to relax a little. He was still feeling slightly jet lagged from his flight the other day.

Johnny seemed to spend increasing amounts of time in New York and he was fast becoming familiar with the nightlife. He opted for one of the bars the Jackass crew had visited while promoting their second movie. The music wasn't really to his taste, he preferred something a little more country rather than 80s rock, but it was a fairly low key joint, where he had less chance of being recognised. The New York press could be just as irritating as those back in LA.

As he had expected, the bar was almost empty when Johnny arrived there late evening. He found himself a seat at the end of the bar, where he hoped he would not be disturbed. He doubted that the crowd that tended to gathered in this particular watering hole would be interested in him anyway. They seemed too busy comparing tattoos in their big leather and studded jackets. All Johnny wanted was a few drinks to clear his head and then he would go straight back to the hotel. There was no sense in getting wasted, not when he was all alone, miles from home.

Johnny had ordered his third whiskey of the night when he heard a commotion coming from the entrance to the bar, disturbing the buzz of conversation over the classic 80s anthems. Johnny glanced over his shoulder and found himself staring at a group of men in their late twenties, or possibly early thirties. They were dressed mainly in black, with lashings of guy liner and a certain gothic aura around them. They certainly looked the part. Johnny was just about to turn away when instinctively his hackles rose. The last member of the gang to enter the bar was simultaneously the last person on earth he had expected to run into, and yet it was almost too much of a coincidence.

Bam and his posse had not spotted Johnny yet so he hastily turned back to face the bartender and pulled down his shades and paid for his drink. Johnny knew what he should do. He should go out of his way to avoid confrontation, and the best way to do so would be to leave now. However, at the back of his mind he couldn't shake the opinion that he had been here first, so why should he have to leave? Male pride at its finest, he mused.

Johnny sipped his drink, deep in contemplation as the gang of young males made their way to the bar. His seat at the end of the bar kept him out of sight for the time being, but surely it would not be long before someone spotted his checked shirt and converse. Bam would recognise him in a heartbeat. Johnny felt himself sink down lower into the bar stool, as if this would somehow render him invisible for a little longer. He was thinking about how pissed Amelia would be if she found out that he'd been in another scrap with Bam. It was not worth it, surely. It would be easy for Johnny to finish his drink quickly and make a swift exit before anyone had chance to spot him. Of course, the longer he stayed here, thinking about it, the more likely it was that Bam would notice him.

It seemed that once again, fate was determined to step in and muck up his plans. Johnny decided to finish his drink and go for night cap in the hotel bar. He placed his empty glass on the bar in front of him and climbed off the stool. Johnny was just shrugging on his jacket as he made his way to the exit when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Amelia, can you come here a second!"

Amelia heard Laura shouting her from upstairs and quickly put down her cup of coffee. She had been waiting for Jeff to drive to the two of them to work as one of Johnny's stipulations before going away had been that Amelia did not go out alone, at least not until the attention had dissipated. That was all very well and good, but Jeff took longer to get ready than any woman Amelia had ever known and she seemed to spend most of her time waiting around for him.

Amelia jogged upstairs and called Laura. She was in the bathroom.

Amelia hesitated and caught her breath. "What's up Laura?" she asked through the door.

She heard the door unlock in front of her and before she knew what was happening, Laura had grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Amelia frowned at Laura, who was still in her pyjamas and looked somewhat flustered. Her cheeks were bright red and her curly blonde hair was sticking up in every direction possible.

In response to Amelia's question, Laura thrust something small and white in her direction. Amelia did not need to look twice at the item in Laura's hand to know what it was. She was all too familiar with the inconspicuous piece of plastic that held the power to change someone's life forever. Amelia took a step towards Laura so that she was close enough to see the blue line.

"Oh my goodness!" Amelia exclaimed, putting a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Congratulations." She smiled at Laura tentatively as she looked like she was about to burst in to tears. It was hard to judge her reaction. Was this a good thing?

Laura put the pregnancy test on the counter and embraced Amelia in a tight hug. "I can't believe it. I'm going to be a mom", she laughed into Amelia's shoulder.

Amelia squeezed her tightly. "I'm so happy for you!" Laura had been talking about wanting children, right from the first day the two women had met.

Laura pulled away from Amelia. Her eyes were streaming with tears. Laura had just opened her mouth to say something when the two women heard Jeff shout.

"Amelia! Are you ready to go?"

Amelia looked at Laura. She was sure that Jeff wouldn't mind her staying with Laura today, under the circumstances but Laura shook her head.

"We'll be down in ten minutes Jeff", Laura shouted. "Amelia's just helping me with something."

Jeff mumbled something incoherent in response.

Laura sat down on the toilet seat, clearly overcome with surprise and happiness. She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

Amelia felt herself well up, partly from happiness for Laura but also because this brought back memories of the moment when she discovered she was pregnant with Brandon. She remembered how she had been on the phone to Johnny both before and after taking the test. He had talked her through it, trying to keep her calm and promising that everything was going to be ok. At that moment, she hadn't realised it due to the nerves over the test, but she'd had an overwhelming sense of love for him.

All of a sudden Amelia really missed Johnny and hoped he would be home very soon.

"I supposed I should tell the daddy", Laura giggled after they had sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the news.

"He'll be thrilled", Amelia assured her. Although Jeff had always feigned disinterest in babies, Amelia had known him long enough and well enough to be sure that he would be over the moon about Laura's news.

"I hope so," Laura grinned nervously.

"You've got nothing to worry about", Amelia nodded confidently.

Laura was lucky. She had a loving and caring husband who would always be there for her and their baby, through thick and thin. Amelia on the other hand, had not been so fortunate in the husband department, but that didn't matter now. She had Johnny and he was perfect. Maybe one day in the future, when the dust had settled, Brandon would grow up knowing his real father, but in the meantime he and Amelia had Johnny to take care of them and he was all that they needed.


	35. Keep Calm and Carry On?

"Oh my God I was right, it is Johnny Knoxville!"

Johnny looked down at the kid who had just grabbed his arm, flashing him his best smile. The guy could be no older than 21 and he appeared completely star struck by the sight of Johnny.

"Hey there", Johnny acknowledged him as friendly as possible, waiting for the inevitable request for a photograph or autograph. Not that he minded of course. Meeting and greeting his fans was a big part of Johnny's work, but this kid had the worst timing in the world.

"Could I get a picture with you dude?" The kid asked anxiously, bobbing up and down on his heels.

Johnny could not bring himself to look up and see whether Bam had noticed the exchange. "Sure", he smiled. "Do you mind if we go outside? I was just going for a smoke."

The kid was more than happy to oblige and followed Johnny out of the bar, where he posed for a few pictures with the guy and his friends. They chatted briefly while Johnny smoked his cigarette, but it wasn't long before the young men returned to the bar and Johnny was free to make his escape. He could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead despite the cold wind. That had been a close shave.

It was funny, Johnny thought. He had never been so anxious to avoid someone before, especially not someone who used to be such a good friend. It wouldn't exactly be the end of the world should Bam run into him, but he certainly didn't want to take his chances. Male pride aside, if Bam tried insulting Amelia again, Johnny would have no choice but to stand up on her behalf.

Johnny stubbed out his cigarette, thinking he had gotten away easily, but before he had taken more than a few steps away from the building he heard a familiar voice shouting his name.

Yo Knoxville!"

With a heavy heart, Johnny turned around to face his friend.

"Bam."

"Fancy seeing you here." Bam drawled. He had a bottle of beer in his hand and a cigarette dangling between his lips.

If possible, he looked even worse than when Johnny had seen him at the wedding. There were heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair had grown several inches. His face looked bloated and he coughed in between sentences. Maybe there had been some truth to the article, but Johnny couldn't bring himself to believe that Bam was actually stupid enough to mess around with drugs.

"Likewise", Johnny nodded, about to turn away. Perhaps he could get away with nothing more than a brief acknowledgment. After all, he was definitely getting too old for bar brawls.

"What's the rush?" Bam raised his arms in the air, in what Johnny struggled to believe was a friendly gesture.

"I've got an early morning", Johnny told him swiftly, watching with wide eyes as Bam made his way closer.

"Ah come on. Have a drink with us", Bam insisted, draping his free arm over Johnny's shoulder and attempting to steer him back to the bar.

Now that Bam was closer, Johnny could tell that his eyes were glazed over and he was having trouble focusing on anything. The article had been right after all. Bam was clearly enjoying the effects of something much stronger than alcohol.

"No really Bam, I have to get going", Johnny told him firmly. The truth was, he could spare another few drinks but he really did not want to be around Bam, not in his present condition or any other state.

Bam was having none of this however, and Johnny was surprised at the strength the shorter man managed to muster in order to guide Johnny through the door and back to the bar. Ignoring his friend's appeals, Bam sat him down at the bar, ordered Johnny a double measure of the most expensive whiskey and watched as he drank it.

"Uh, thanks Bam." After finishing his drink, Johnny managed to contort his lips into something which might resemble a smile.

"It's just like old times, right?" Bam exclaimed happily. "Remember when we came here last time with all the guys. It was a riot!"

Johnny looked at Bam, puzzled. He had certainly not anticipated this kind of behaviour. As far as he could remember, Bam had treated Johnny with nothing but resentment since his wife had left him. Surely the drugs could not be having that strong an effect on Bam that he could forget whatever hatred he harboured for Johnny.

Bam was oblivious to Johnny's bewilderment and continued to reminisce.

After listening to Bam rant for ten minutes or so, Johnny cut him off. Bam might be high as a kite but Johnny was not going to go along with him, pretending that everything was just peachy because he had taken a few too many 'happy pills'. As sure as Amelia was that Bam was not responsible for the article, it was not enough to convince Johnny of his innocence.

"What's going on here Bam?" Johnny asked seriously, putting his glass down on the counter. "Because I'm willing to bet you haven't forgotten everything that's going on."

"You're right", Bam nodded, pouring the remaining contents of his beer down his throat before slamming the bottle on the bar with unnecessary force. Despite the fact that he seemed to be acknowledging the truth, Bam was still in high spirits as he ordered another round for Johnny and himself.

Johnny looked around. Bam's posse were scattered across the bar, paying no interest in what their friend was getting up to.

"Have you thought anymore about my offer?" Bam laughed, more to himself than anything else as he made a start on his next bottle of beer.

Johnny sighed. Bam clearly wasn't as 'out of it' as he had thought. There had obviously been an ulterior motive for getting Johnny back into the bar. He took a deep breath, telling himself not to rise to Bam this time. He had to be the bigger man, for both Amelia and Brandon.

"I'm not going to talk about that now Bam", Johnny told him decisively, watching the younger man with a certain amount of caution. Nor was he going to bring up the article. "I'm going to graciously accept this drink you've bought me and when I've finished I'm leaving. You're in no fit state to talk about anything, least of all your wife and son."

Bam either hadn't heard him, or was feigning deafness as the two men quickly finished their drinks in silence. Every muscle in Johnny's body was tense, fighting off the urge to land his fist square in Bam's face, and not for the first time. The amount of willpower it took not to throw Bam to the floor was overwhelming for Johnny, but it was no match compared to his feelings for Amelia. He was not going to let her down. She had experienced too much of that already.

"See you around Bam", Johnny said curtly before taking the opportunity to make his getaway.

"Yeah, I'll see you in LA Knoxville. Maybe then we can talk about my offer", Bam replied, his eyes sparkling as he watched Johnny leave.

The cold night air was a welcome relief to Johnny as he finally broke free from the bar and started walking down the street. It was for this reason that he chose to walk back to his hotel rather than hailing a cab. He really needed to clear his head. It had taken all of his strength not to come to blows with Bam. Then again, it wasn't as if Bam had been asking for a fight tonight. Johnny could only attribute this to the narcotics that were currently raging through his system.

By the time Johnny arrived back at the hotel, the effects of the whiskey had begun to wear off. He decided there would be no harm in having that night cap after all, so he made his way straight to the bar.

After Knoxville had left the bar, Bam remained in his seat thinking little of the exchange that had just taken place. Bam had not been looking for confrontation with his old friend and he knew he was lucky that Johnny had not been out for a fight either. If anything it had been a nice surprise to see a familiar face. In any other bar, in any other city, on any other night, Bam was confident that the two would probably have come to blows. As it happened, Bam was experiencing too much of a buzz tonight to let anything bother him, least of all the man that was currently sleeping with his wife.

The problem was, the buzz would eventually fade and when it did, he would be left feeling as angry, upset and confused as ever. There was only one way to prevent this, he thought as he stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

Amelia decided that she would pick Johnny up from the airport. As happy as she was for Laura and Jeff, she needed a break from the sickeningly happy couple who could talk of nothing but baby names. As she had predicted, Jeff had been overjoyed at the news that he was to be a father for the first time.

Johnny was pleasantly surprised to see Amelia's purple car pulling up outside the arrivals building of LAX. He had just been about to call a cab when she beeped the horn at him, causing him to nearly drop his phone.

"Well fancy seeing you here ma'am", Johnny grinned, sticking his head through the open passenger window.

"Thought I'd save you the taxi fare", she shrugged, attempting nonchalance.

"I'm sure", Johnny laughed as he walked to the rear of the car and put his bags in the trunk.

As soon as he climbed into the car he was tackled by Amelia, who pulled him across the car into her arms and hugged him as tightly as she could. Johnny responded by hugging her back, before pushing her hair from her face and kissing her passionately.

"Did you miss me?" He whispered into her ear, tangling his fingers in her hair.

Amelia nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe."

"I missed you too", he replied and kissed her firmly again.

Johnny pulled away from Amelia when he heard giggling coming from the back of the car. He glanced in the rear view mirror and spotted a familiar little boy in the back seat.

"Hey Brandon!" he greeted the two year old, who was wriggling excitedly in his child seat.

"Johnny!" The toddler exclaimed happily.

"I've got something for you." Johnny rummaged through his hand luggage, which he had kept on his person. He watched Brandon's eyes light up in joy when he caught a glimpse of the teddy bear in Johnny's hands.

"What do you say, Brandon?" Amelia reminded her son with a playful grin as Johnny passed the bear over to Brandon.

"Thank you Johnny", Brandon squealed, over come with delight as he hugged the bear tightly.

"Thank you", Amelia added as Johnny buckled himself in. "You didn't have to get him anything."

"I wanted to", Johnny smiled. "And don't worry; I have a little something for you as well. I wouldn't want you to feel left out."

Amelia stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "So how did it go?" she asked, starting the engine.

"The interview? It was fine. Nothing special. How have the LA journalists been? Did I miss anything?" He chose not mention his run in with Bam, if you could call it that. It wasn't as if he'd returned with any war wounds and nothing had happened that was worth repeating. He had also opted to leave out the part of his trip that saw him drinking one too many whiskeys in the hotel bar the night before, while fighting off the attentions of a good looking but slightly intimidating woman in her mid forties.

Amelia shook her head. "Everything's been fine. I think they've lost interest. It's been a week now so I'm sure they've moved on to another poor target."

Johnny felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was glad that Amelia had not had any run- ins with the press while he had been away. "Rather them than us, eh?"

"Anyway, enough about that. I have some news." Amelia had a mischievous look on her face.

Johnny raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Do tell."

Amelia, grinning, got straight to the point. "Jeff's going to be a daddy!"

Bam slipped into the bathroom. It was empty. He walked over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. As he turned off the tap he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. It was true. He was looking pretty rough these days, he admitted to himself. But still, he didn't really care. As far as he was concerned, people could think what they wanted. Most of what Terri had said, about him anyway, was true. Yes, he was on drugs. So what? He was a grown man. He could do whatever he wanted. No amount of gossip-mongering magazine articles could bother him.

What did bug him, however, was the fact that everyone was so quick to blame him for the article. His lawyers, Knoxville's lawyers, hell even his own mother thought that he was responsible for it. Bam shook these thoughts from his mind and put his hand in his pocket, searching for the little plastic bag.

Bam had been dabbling with drugs ever since Amelia had left him. Try as he might, no amount of beer or vodka could fill the empty space in his chest, so when a friend of a friend offered him a solution that was 'sure to cheer him up', who was he to resist? One night turned into many, many more, but Bam had managed to keep his little habit under wraps for at least six months. Even Novak, now his closest friend, had no idea what he had been up to.

The first time he had taken the pills his mind had flickered to Novak and Steve-O, both of whom had fought their own, messy battle with drugs and alcohol. There was of course, another voice, the devil on his shoulder that was quick to remind him that he was Bam Margera, not Novak or Steve-O, and Bam Margera could handle anything.

Without so much as a second thought, Bam slipped a handful of the tablets into his palm and threw them down his throat, followed by a long gulp of beer. He splashed his face once again and finished his beer, waiting for the magic to happen.


	36. Infinity

Johnny sat back in his chair and watched with faint amusement as the well wishers thronged around the office he shared with Jeff. Good news sure did travel fast.

"Congratulations dude!" Dimitry slapped Jeff on the back, the latest colleague to give the father-to-be his regards. "I knew you had it in you!"

"Thanks", Jeff grinned. He had not stopped grinning all morning. It was a rare sight.

Although Amelia told Johnny that Jeff and Laura had known for a few days, it wasn't until today, which also happened to be Johnny's first day back in the office, that Jeff decided to make the announcement. Laura had been to see her doctor the previous afternoon and had been given the ok.

Johnny was really happy for his friend. It was such an exciting time in any man's life and he remembered how he had felt when Mel had discovered she was expecting their daughter. He had been scared, excited, overjoyed, every emotion under the sun. With all the talk of babies around the office it was making _him _feel broody! He wondered if he would ever have any more kids. He wanted to of course. He would love to have a son, or another daughter, but he had no idea where Amelia stood on the matter and he had no intention of bringing it up any time soon, that was for sure.

"I know that look PJ. I know what you're thinking."

Johnny glanced up to see that Jeff was staring at him intently, the office now deserted but for them.

"What?" Johnny scrunched his nose up at Jeff. How could he possibly know what he was thinking?

"You want another one." Jeff was laughing at him, rather knowingly as he swivelled his chair around playfully.

"Another what? I'll have another coffee if you're offering?" Johnny feigned ignorance and tried to concentrate on the email he was halfway through typing.

"You should talk to Amelia. With the two of your genes, it'd be rude not to."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Jeff." Johnny shook his head indifferently, refusing to look up from his screen.

"Come on PJ, don't play coy with me. Ever since I saw you yesterday, you've had a glassy look in your eyes", Jeff smirked. "You were reading pregnancy magazines with Laura last night and if I'm not mistaken, you're taking Brandon to a soccer match next weekend."

"I think you've had too much coffee Jeff", Johnny mocked, not quite ready to believe in his friend's mind-reading abilities just yet.

"So you don't want another kid?" Jeff looked at Johnny inquisitively, ever the king of devil's advocate.

"I never said that", Johnny stated.

"Well?" Jeff looked at him pointedly from across the desk.

Johnny sighed. "Ok fine. Yes. Hearing that there's going to be a new addition to the Tremaine clan has made me think about having kids", Johnny finally admitted, when Jeff's accusatory staring had become too much to bare. He was getting better at this.

"See, I told you I knew what you were thinking." Jeff had a smug look plastered across his face. The same look that would normally earn him a cattle prod to his lower region, but Johnny's heart was not in it today. "So, are you going to talk to Amelia?"

"Are you kidding?" Johnny looked at his friend rather dramatically. "No. No way. She'd freak out."

Jeff laughed at Johnny's reaction. "Why?"

"How long have you got? Come on Jeff, we've not even been together for a year", Johnny ran his hand through his hair, a sure sign of agitation if ever there was one.

"Yeah but that doesn't matter. You two were made for each other", Jeff argued.

Johnny shrugged. "Be that as it may, if I mention kids to her anytime in the next few years, she'll panic. I know it. It's the last thing she needs. She was only 21 when she had Brandon with Bam and look how that panned out. There's no way I could put that on her, not for a long time anyway."

Jeff listened to Johnny in quiet contemplation, wishing there was something he could do. Johnny definitely had a point. He knew Amelia would never regret having Brandon, but the situation had never been ideal.

Johnny was fidgeting in his seat. "I need her to know that she can trust me first, that I'm always going to be here for her." He paused. "I don't want to put the kids card on the table and scare her off."

"Fair enough dude", Jeff nodded. "But remember, you're allowed to have feelings too."

The media frenzy had all but disappeared, much to Johnny's relief. As promised, Johnny was intending to make up for his absence to Amelia that very evening. She and Brandon would be spending the night at his house, for which he was very grateful. He still hated being alone in that big house.

As he waited for his guests to arrive, Johnny began preparing dinner. He liked to think of himself as at least adequate in the kitchen and it was hard to go wrong with a simple but tasty pasta dish. As he was preparing the ingredients his mind continued to wander to his earlier conversation with Jeff. He wondered if Amelia would ever consider having another baby. One day they would have to talk about it. One day in the far future.

He had just placed a bottle of wine on the table when he heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. Johnny smiled to himself. He never could contain his excitement to see Amelia. He met her at the door, where she was juggling Brandon, who was fast asleep, and their overnight bag in her arms.

"Sorry I'm late", she apologised. "He fell asleep just before we left."

"You're not late", Johnny laughed, taking the bag from her hands. He leant forward to kiss her gently on the cheek and gestured for her to enter. "Go ahead and put him to bed. Dinner's not quite ready."

"Thanks", Amelia smiled and made her way straight upstairs with the sleeping toddler.

Amelia returned downstairs, gasping in surprise to find a candlelit dinner waiting for her. She glanced down at her jeans and faded t-shirt, feeling a little underdressed.

"You look beautiful", Johnny smiled, interrupting her thoughts.

"Thank you", she blushed. "You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble."

"I told you I would make it up to you", he grinned, taking her hand and leading her to the table.

After a lovely dinner, accompanied by fine wine and lively conversation, Amelia and Johnny retired to the sofa. There was no need for words anymore as Johnny took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. Here was where Amelia felt most at home, protected by Johnny's safe and loving arms. This was where she belonged, she thought as he leant her down so that he was lying on top of her, the heat of their bodies radiating through their clothes.

Johnny pulled away suddenly, leaving a rather flushed Amelia on her back. "I completely forgot about your gift", he laughed.

Amelia sat up and watched curiously, struggling to catch her breath, as Johnny got to his feet to fish something out from his pocket. For a moment her heart stopped at the sight of the small object in his hand. Surely he wasn't going to propose, she thought, her heart racing.

To her surprise and relief the item in his hand was not a box but a small satin drawstring bag. Amelia felt silly for even thinking such a thing. Luckily Johnny had been too busy to notice her expression, which must have shown a fleeting sign of fear. Marriage was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

Johnny opened the bag and tipped a tiny piece of silver into her hand. It was a charm, fashioned into the shape of the infinity symbol. The charm was designed to fit onto a bracelet, just like the one on Amelia's wrist that her mother had given her for her 21st birthday.

"Oh PJ it's beautiful", Amelia gasped, tears springing to her eyes.

"I'm glad you like it", he smiled.

Johnny helped her to unfasten the bracelet from her wrist and she slipped the charm on, where it rested neatly next to the other charms that she had collected over the last three years. Each charm came from someone extremely dear to Amelia, and it was as if Johnny's infinity charm had been the missing puzzle piece.

Besides the gem encrusted beads from her mother, she had a coiled silver snake that Steve had given her as a sign of his thanks for her friendship during his addiction. It was a souvenir from his travels with Wildboyz and it meant the world to Amelia. She also had a teddy charm that April and Phil had given her when Brandon was born. Rose had contributed to the bracelet with the rose shaped charm as a gift to Amelia on her wedding day, while Jeff and Laura had given her a champagne bottle shaped charm to thank her for being bridesmaid at their wedding and also as a joke, taking into consideration how much wine she liked to drink. Up until now, the final charm on her bracelet had been a silver dolphin, from Bam. He had given it to her out of the blue one afternoon when they had first started dating. While she could no longer bring herself to wear his necklace, there was something about the charm that made it impossible for her to discard.

Johnny refastened the bracelet around Amelia's wrist and kissed her gently. "I want you to think of this charm as a promise... a promise that I'm always going to be here for you, for infinity." Johnny smiled at her, waiting to see her reaction.

Amelia didn't know what to say, so instead she responded by putting her arms around him and pulling him back down on to the sofa so that they could resume their kissing. Johnny grinned into the kiss, feeling more content than he had for a long time. Even though he still had much to talk to Amelia about, he was determined that nothing was going to spoil this perfect evening.

Later that night, after they had made love, Amelia was lying in Johnny's arms, her head resting gently on his shoulder. With any luck, in less than a month's time the custody case would be over and the divorce would finally be under way, leaving Amelia, Brandon and Johnny free to start a new life together. While the last few months had been pretty rough going, and the custody case certainly wasn't going to go smoothly, Amelia knew that it would all be worth it in the end. They had so much to look forward to.

"I can't believe Jeff is going to be a dad", Johnny laughed, breaking the comfortable silence after reading a text on his phone. Amelia assumed it must have been some crude joke from his aforementioned partner in crime.

Amelia nudged his arm playfully. "All his faults aside, Jeff's going to make a brilliant dad!" she grinned. "I'm so happy and excited for them."

Johnny remembered his earlier conversation with Jeff and kissed Amelia's head lightly. "it is pretty exciting", he agreed. "Being a dad is definitely one of the best things I've ever done."

Amelia was not sure how to respond, or even if she was supposed to, so instead she simply smiled and sunk her head further into Johnny's shoulder.

While Amelia was cleaning her teeth in the bathroom a little later, she glanced at her reflection in the full length mirror. She thought about what Johnny had said about being a dad and she found herself putting a hand on her stomach. Sometimes she could still feel the sensation of Brandon's little kicks when she had been pregnant with him. As tough as her pregnancy had been thanks to Bam, she had still enjoyed every minute of it and in turn she had been granted with the most precious gift possible; a child. Brandon.

Amelia smiled again before returning to the bedroom.


	37. The Spying Game

It was a rainy Saturday morning in LA. Johnny had left Amelia in bed early that morning. He had an important meeting with Jeff and although she knew he was working today, Amelia still felt disappointed waking up alone in her apartment on the weekend. Reluctantly she swung herself out of bed and set to work getting Brandon ready for the day. It was a miserable, rainy day, so she figured they would stay in and watch cartoons until Johnny returned. He had promised not to be long at the office and they had dinner reservations that night. Something to look forward to, Johnny had said.

Fortunately Amelia's bad mood did not last very long, especially when she received a call from Harry. He had called to discuss the matter of divorce. Harry quickly explained to Amelia that although she had no proof that she had not cheated on Bam, the fact that she had evidence that he had cheated on her (in the form of Jenn's photo message) was a huge advantage for them. Harry was confident about their chances of winning and told Amelia not to worry about a thing.

This was music to Amelia's ears, so when she received another unexpected phone call, this time from Rick, asking her to meet him for coffee as soon as possible, she was both surprised and concerned, but nevertheless took him up on the offer. The prospect of coffee and adult company was somewhat more inviting than watching reruns of Brandon's cartoons for the umpteenth time that week.

After hanging up on Rick, Amelia quickly finished the shirt she had been half way through ironing. She didn't want to keep him waiting too long. Rick had sounded mysterious and a little edgy on the phone and he had refused to tell her what was up, insisting that she just met him as soon as she could. This was not altogether uncommon for Rick. He had a tendency to create an aura of suspense when he wanted something from someone. It was one of the only ways he could get his own way. He certainly did not possess the mythical bargaining skills of Jeff, or the southern charm and sweet talking of Johnny.

Trying not to second guess what Rick could be up to, Amelia simply packed up her hand bag before setting off with Brandon in tow. It was rare for Amelia and Rick to socialise on a one to one basis as Dimitry, Cliver or Lance were usually around in the office. She wondered if they had received a similar call.

She met Rick, who was alone, at the nearest Starbucks and was surprised to see that he had already bought her a coffee and Brandon a juice carton. She took a seat opposite him with Brandon on her knee and picked up the cup, looking at him curiously.

"Peppermint Mocha...you remembered!" she exclaimed after a hesitant sip. Despite the fact that they had worked together for nearly a year, it had taken Rick this long to finally remember her coffee order.

"I knew I'd get there eventually", Rick grinned.

"I'm impressed", Amelia nodded. "So what's so important that it couldn't wait for Monday morning?" She was keen to get straight to the point.

"Always straight to business. I like your style", Rick complimented her.

Amelia ignored his comment and took another sip of coffee, waiting for Rick to explain himself. She was not in the mood to play games.

Rick looked a little uncomfortable now. As if he had hoped that there would be some easier way of saying what he had to. "OK. I know what you're going to say but just hear me out, please", he began. His voice had a desperate edge to it.

Amelia did not like the sound of this and folded her arms around Brandon as he sipped away at his juice contentedly.

"It's about the third movie", Rick told her after a moment of hesitation. After seeing the look of disbelief on Amelia's face, he switched his gaze from Amelia to his coffee. "You guys didn't believe me at the wedding and to be fair I didn't have enough proof, but now it's different."

Amelia had all but forgotten about Rick's little conspiracy theory, especially after Johnny had assured her that nothing was going on. She had to stop herself from sighing in exasperation. She didn't want to be rude.

"Look Rick. I spoke to Johnny at New Year and he assured me that nothing was going on." Amelia spoke calmly, taking another sip of her coffee. She was willing to believe Johnny over Rick's delusions any day.

"I don't doubt that for a second but hear me out would you?" Rick's desperation was becoming even more evident. "Something weird's happening and how else can you explain it?"

Amelia raised her eyebrow. "Ok Rick. Try me." This had the potential to be very funny.

"Ok. " He took a deep breath before continuing. "Take for instance, the fact that all of the guys are currently in LA."

Amelia frowned. "What do you mean 'all the guys' are in LA?" More than half of the cast and crew of Jackass lived in LA as it was. This was not necessarily surprising or suspicious.

"I mean everyone Amelia." Rick said sombrely. "Dave and Ehren, and Preston and Chris. They've all flown in. Did you know?"

"No." Amelia shook her head slightly. She'd had no idea that they were in town but she was sure that Johnny would have told her if this was the case. "Are you sure?"

"I swear on my life. I ran into Dave last night and he told me that he'd just arrived from Portland." Now it was Rick's turn to fold his arms.

"Ok, but that doesn't prove anything." Amelia was not quite willing to buy into Rick's tall tales just yet. There were plenty of reasons why Dave and the others might be in LA.

"Maybe not", Rick conceded. "But what Dave _told_ me does."

"What did he tell you?" Amelia's curiosity had finally been piqued and she found herself leaning forward.

Rick could tell he was onto something here and he tried to suppress a satisfied smile. "All Dave knew was that the guys had all been asked to come to LA and attend a meeting today."

Amelia was beginning to feel a little bit nauseous. She wasn't sure if it was to do with drinking coffee on an empty stomach or the fact that Rick's story was beginning to hold some grain of truth. If the guys really were in LA for a meeting, why had Johnny not mentioned this to her?

"Where's Knoxville today?" Rick asked after a few moments of allowing Amelia to digest this new information. He sounded as if he was innocently enquiring as to Johnny's whereabouts, but the truth was much harder to swallow.

"He's at the office", Amelia muttered quietly, feeling sicker and sicker by the moment.

Rick did not say anything. He didn't need to.

"I'm not trying to cause trouble Amelia. All I'm telling you is the facts here. I just need someone to believe me."

Amelia nodded slightly. "I'm not saying I completely believe you, but I agree that something is going on." She felt more than a little annoyed at Johnny for not telling her about this meeting, whatever it was. The last time she checked, she had been part of the team too.

"What's more", Rick added, "Is that Dimitry's involved somehow too. I tried ringing him this morning, before I called you. He said he couldn't meet me because he had to nip into the office."

Rick allowed this new piece of information to hang in the air for a while.

"I don't suppose you had planned on what to do now?" Amelia looked at Rick pointedly. She was ready to accept that there was some truth to Rick's claims and now she needed to do something about it.

He shook his head. "I didn't really expect you to believe me", he admitted. "Whatever it is they're discussing, it kind of makes you feel left out, doesn't it? I mean, why is there so much secrecy?"

Amelia had to agree. Working for Dickhouse had always felt like being part of a family, until now that is. She wondered if Steve was involved. What about Ryan? And Bam?

They finished their coffee in silence, except for the playful noises of Brandon.

"I'm going to the office", Amelia declared finally. She knew that she would not be able to sit and wait for Johnny to return. Not knowing the truth was going to drive her insane. "As far as I'm concerned, Johnny and Jeff are just in a meeting. I'll pop in under the pretence of having left something in our office and see what happens."

"We'll make a spy out of you yet", Rick laughed.

Rick offered to go along to the Dickhouse offices with Amelia, but she decided it would look suspicious on their part and instead opted to go with Brandon. She promised to text Rick as soon as she found anything out.

As she buckled Brandon into the child seat in the back of her car, Amelia felt another wave of nausea hit her.

Arriving in the office car park, Amelia pulled up next to Johnny's SUV. The car park was by no means full but there were a handful of unfamiliar vehicles scattered alongside Jeff, Spike and Dimitry's cars. This proved nothing, Amelia reminded herself, but it certainly did not bode well.

This was the easy part, thought Amelia, as she swiped her key card to get in and made her way through the office building. No one even had to know that she had been here. The hard part would be dealing with what she may or may not be about to discover. She hoped with all her heart that she and Rick were wrong and it was just one big misunderstanding, but deep down she could tell that something was not right.

Amelia walked along the third floor where most of the private offices were, including hers. She was not prepared to go on a full scale search of the building to find Johnny and the others, but if she happened to come across them here then so be it.

The office Amelia shared with Rick and Dimitry was the furthest from the elevator. Usually she found this annoying but today it was more than convenient. It was perfect as it meant she would walk past everyone else's offices as well as the staffroom and conference rooms.

With every foot step Amelia could feel her heart beat faster and faster. The whole situation was faintly ridiculous but she couldn't shake the tension and suspense that she was currently experiencing as she and Brandon slowly made their way down the corridor. She glanced in Johnny's office, which had been left wide open but was currently empty. His bag and jacket had been discarded on his desk. He was definitely here.

So far Amelia had heard nothing to suggest that a meeting was taking place, but she had not even covered half of the floor yet. She was extremely glad at this moment in time for being blessed with such a quiet child. Brandon seemed to understand the need for silence and had not made so much as a peep since entering the building.

Both Amelia's heart and mind were racing, but there was no point rehearsing what she was going to say. After all, she had no idea what she was going to find. As she drew closer to the second and largest conference room, Amelia could finally hear voices. She stopped dead in her tracks.

Amelia felt a lump form in her throat. The voices sounded familiar but her head was swimming and she could not focus on what they were saying from this distance. She could see the window to the conference room and the blinds had been partly drawn so she edged closer with Brandon still securely in her arms.

The door to the conference room had been left ajar, which was why Amelia was able to hear the voices so clearly. She tiptoed as close to the window as she dared. From this safe distance the conversation was clear but she could not see into the room and therefore whoever was inside could not see her. Amelia stood as still and as silent as possible. She did not want to get caught eavesdropping, but she needed to know what was going on.

Inside the room, tempers were running high. The meeting, if you could call it that, had already been in session for half an hour, but no progress had been made. Around the table sat two Paramount studio executives, Johnny, Jeff, Spike, Trip and a handful of Jackass' other producers. They were joined by the entire cast (including Bam) and a selection of the crew. Dimitry, Cordell and Cliver to be precise.

Jeff had welcomed everyone and explained why they were here, to those who did not already know. The matter at hand, of course, was whether or not there was going to be another Jackass film. This came as a surprise to most of the cast and crew and right from the get go there had been a lively and not necessarily friendly debate.

Johnny had stayed out of the discussion for the most part, giving his opinion only when asked. He felt bad that Amelia was not here and not looking forward to the time when their relationship would be called into question.

Bam also had been quiet. In fact, he had barely spoken a word since his arrival and seemed altogether disinterested in the conversation and quite frankly bored. As far as he was concerned the future of Jackass depended entirely on whether or not Knoxville was prepared to accept his deal. The time was soon approaching when Bam would have to remind his rival of this fact and he was looking forward to it.

Listening to the conversation, Amelia soon realised that Rick had been right. The producers really were considering making another movie. She felt her knees go weak with the realisation that Johnny had been lying to her. Johnny. The one man she had been so sure she could trust. She had not yet heard his voice but she knew he was there. She was going nowhere until she had heard him speak.

For Amelia, all of the other voices seemed to blur into one as eventually the cast members came around to the idea. The initial shock had worn off and now the prospect of making another movie had filled nearly everyone with excitement. Everyone that is, except Steve, Johnny and Bam. The three men had not yet given their answer and Amelia started to tune in again when she heard Steve speak.

"I'm all for doing another movie man, but you're forgetting that so much shit has gone on. I'm not mentioning names here but there are certain people you need to take into consideration and think how it's going to affect them."

This was the first time that Amelia had heard Steve speak so cautiously.

Johnny noticed that Steve avoided making eye contact with anyone while he spoke, but it was obvious he was talking about Amelia, Bam and himself. Up until now, no one had mentioned this issue, predominantly because Johnny and Bam themselves had not yet said anything. Johnny had known all along that it was inevitable and he was thankful that Steve had been the one to bring it up.

"Thank you for your subtlety Steve", Jeff acknowledged. He had taken it upon himself to chair the meeting due to Johnny's apparent loss of voice. "I think everyone here is aware of what Steve is talking about." Jeff glanced at Johnny and then at Bam for added effect.

There was a murmur of agreement around the table. A sudden air of awkwardness had fallen and the spotlight was now on Johnny and Bam. Until this moment Johnny had always loved to be the centre of attention, but right now he wished the ground would swallow him up and take him far away. For the first time in his life he was lost for words, there was nothing he could say, for he feared how Bam would respond.

The focus of the entire room was on the two men and after an intense and painful silence it was Bam who was first to speak.

"As far as I'm concerned, the ball, so to speak, is in Knoxville's court", Bam announced, rather smugly. "We've spoken already, at Jeff's wedding in fact, and he knows exactly how I feel about the situation. I'm still waiting to see if he'll accept my... offer, shall we way. Perhaps he'll let us all know today."


	38. How to Ruin Everything

Every muscle in Amelia's body tensed up as she listened to Bam's ever so familiar voice. All the while she was wondering what the hell he was on about. Johnny and Bam had gotten into a fight at Jeff's wedding that much she was aware of, but Johnny had never mentioned Bam making an offer of any kind. It didn't take long for Amelia to realise that Johnny could well have lied about that too and it made her feel like throwing up.

Inside the conference room, all eyes were on Johnny. If the ground really was going to swallow him up he hoped it would happen sooner rather than later.

"What do you mean by offer Bam?" Jeff asked the question that was on everyone's lips. The room was uncomfortably silent.

"Yes Knoxville, what do I mean by offer?" Bam glared at Johnny. Even from outside the room Amelia could tell that his voice was dripping with malice.

"I thought that was just the drink talking Bam", Johnny shrugged, the first words he had said all meeting. His attempt to appear casual and unflustered was hindered by the uncertainty in his voice. Johnny knew full well that Bam's offer was not just a result of 'the drink talking' but he really didn't want to face up to this. If Amelia found out she was going to be pretty damn pissed and very upset.

"Come on Knoxville. Why not share our little secret with everyone here? Tell them what the deal is", Bam gloated.

Amelia didn't want to keep listening but she couldn't move from her spot. She was terrified by what she might hear, yet at the same time she needed to know. She held Brandon tighter in her arms.

Johnny shot Bam a warning look, which was not missed by others in the room, especially Jeff.

Bam however, was not put off. "You don't want to tell them? Fine. I will."

"Bam, come on..." Johnny tried to stop him but it was no use.

Bam was grinning now. In his mind he was winning this little game. "Our deal is that I will happily be part of the next movie and I'll even drop my custody case, on one condition." He seemed to pause for dramatic effect. "That he ends whatever is going on between him and my wife."

Amelia's knees finally gave way and she nearly dropped to the floor. Her whole world was crashing down around her. She struggled to straighten herself up under the weight of Brandon and the revelation of Johnny's betrayal. Tears sprang to Amelia's eyes and all she could hear now was her heart pounding away in her chest.

Inside the room you could hear a pin drop. Nobody quite knew what to say. Jeff looked from Bam to Johnny, waiting for someone to break the silence. He could tell from the look on Johnny's face that what Bam had said was true. While he was appalled by Bam's offer, he was even more shocked that Johnny had not said anything to him.

"PJ?" Jeff stared at his friend. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Amelia choked back tears. Her son was becoming restless as he picked up on his mother's distress and Brandon's cries had not gone unnoticed. To Amelia's horror the blinds were parted before she had even chance to move. She found herself face to face with Chris who had obviously been sitting closest to her spot. His eyes widened in surprise and he pulled away quickly.

Amelia panicked. She could not trust Chris not to say anything. In fact she was sure he would tell everyone what he had seen. Instinctively she did the first thing that came to mind. She ran.

Back inside the room, Bam's revelation still had not yet had chance to sink in. "What was that?" Jeff asked sharply before Johnny had chance to reply. They had all heard the muffled noise from outside the room. It sounded strangely like a child's cry. Chris, being closest, had peaked through the blinds and he was now backing up slowly.

Johnny was getting ready to defend himself. He had made a mistake by not being straight with Jeff but it wasn't as if he was going to take Bam up on the offer.

Chris returned from the window and the attention of the room was now fixed on him. His face was a mixture of shock and fear. "Erm, I don't really know how to break it to you guys, but Amelia was just outside."

Amelia ran as fast as her legs could carry her and she made it safely into the car park before she dared to look back. The coast was clear so she fastened Brandon into the child seat quickly and climbed into the front of the car, trying to catch her breath. She had not yet fully processed the information she had just received. She couldn't bear to bring herself to think about it.

Before starting the engine she felt she had better send a brief text to Rick, letting him know he had been right all along. Not that it mattered much anymore.

Amelia put her phone away and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to let her emotions run wild. It was important that she stayed strong for her son. She wasn't sure where she was going to go. All she knew was that she had to get away, far away.

"Amelia!"

A familiar voice was shouting her from across the car park. She didn't need to look up to know that it was Johnny. Her stomach somersaulted. She really didn't want to see him right now, let alone speak to him.

Unfortunately he was sprinting towards the car and he threw himself at the door before she could pull off. "Amelia, wait!" he begged her through the open window. He tried to open the door but she had managed to lock it in time.

"Why should I?" She stared past him, unable to bring herself to make eye contact with the man that had betrayed her. She could see other familiar faces appearing from the building. Steve, Jeff, Ryan, and Bam. She had no intention of waiting for Johnny, or anyone else for that matter.

"You need to let me explain", Johnny exclaimed as the others drew closer. He tried to ignore them. The last thing he wanted was an audience.

"I think I've heard all I need to Johnny", Amelia replied bluntly, still not able to look him in the eye. The tears that had threatened to fall in the office had now disappeared and Amelia was filled with anger at the sight of his face.

"What did you hear?" he cried. He could only imagine how much of the conversation she had heard, but judging from Amelia's expression she had heard too much.

Although Amelia could see his eyes were filling with tears she didn't care. As far as she was concerned he could cry all he wanted. "Enough", she replied simply before putting her foot on the gas and speeding off into the distance.

The apartment was the first place that Johnny, or anyone else who wanted to find her, would think to look, but Amelia had to face the facts. She had nowhere else to go, or at least not in a hurry anyway. The best she could do was to lock the door and hope that no one would come calling. She needed to be alone.

In the mean time however, Amelia had a screaming little boy to contend with. Brandon had not stopped crying since they had left the office and she couldn't blame him. All she wanted to do was cry but somehow she found herself unable to. She was seeing red. She tried to distract herself from her anger by consoling Brandon.

"I'm sorry baby", Amelia cooed, trying to calm him down but it was no use. She felt just as horrible as he did and she was sure that the little boy was picking up on it.

She glanced at her phone, which was now lying beside her on the bed. Besides the dozens of missed calls she had received from Johnny, Steve had also tried ringing her but she could not bring herself to speak to him either. Hearing them all in the meeting had made her feel as if she was the butt of some sick joke.

Brandon finally stopped crying as she cradled him in her arms. Amelia bent her head and buried her face in her son's curly locks. He was the only man she would ever be able to trust.

Bam's behaviour had not surprised Amelia in the slightest. She had come to expect something like this from him. Johnny, however, was a different story. He was the man she loved and thought that she could trust. Why would he keep something like this a secret from her? Once again it seemed she had been blind and stupid.

Johnny was beside himself as he sat on the steps outside the office with his head in his hands. He had known all along that nothing good would come from lying to Amelia and now it had caught up with him and he only had himself to blame.

"Why didn't I tell her straight away!" Johnny moaned. "I'm such a fucking idiot."

Jeff stood over him feeling pretty sorry for his friend. He had adjourned the meeting for the day and the rest of the cast and crew had gone home or to their hotels to await further instruction. At the back of his mind Jeff had an inkling that Bam and Johnny would come to blows today but he could never have imagined anything like this. It was like a scene from a bad movie.

Jeff was pissed with Bam for this little stunt, and with Johnny for not confiding in him, but now was not the time to turn on his friend.

"I don't really know what to say dude", Jeff admitted. Johnny had managed to explain to Jeff that he'd never agreed to anything with Bam but that was of little importance now. Explaining to Amelia was going to be a whole lot harder. Johnny was in a mess and there was no doubt about it.

Johnny remained quiet for a while, until finally he stood up. "I need to talk to her", he told Jeff. "I need to explain everything."

"You want a ride?" Jeff offered. He wasn't sure if Johnny was in any state to be driving.

Johnny shook his head and without another word he made his way to his car.

He arrived outside Amelia's apartment block in record time. Speed limits and traffic lights didn't seem important anymore. The only thing that mattered to Johnny now was getting Amelia back. Getting into her building was easy. He knew the code. Getting Amelia to let him into her apartment was not going to be so easy.

From inside Amelia's apartment she heard footsteps approaching the door. Having only just managed to get Brandon to settle she held her breath, hoping that whoever was outside was not intending to pay her a visit.

To her frustration there was a knock on the door. As far as she was aware, Johnny was the only person who knew the code to her block.

"Amelia I need to talk to you."

Hearing his voice through the door, Amelia felt queasy. This was the very same voice that this morning would have sent shivers down her spine. Now Johnny's voice made her shake with rage. She stayed very silent, hoping he would go away.

Johnny banged on the door a little harder this time. He was nothing if not resilient.

"Come on Amelia I know you're in there. I've seen your car in the yard. Please let me in. I can explain."

There was still no response so Johnny was forced to dig into his pocket and pull out his keys. It was fortunate that he had a spare key to Amelia's apartment. He realised that by letting himself in he would be intruding on her privacy and would only upset her more, but he needed know that she was ok. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Amelia was standing, arms crossed, in the doorway between her bedroom and the hallway. As soon as she saw the lock turn she straightened herself up, ready to confront him.

"Get out!" She demanded before he had even fully opened the door.

"Amelia I..." he started to explain himself as he stepped inside.

"I said get out Johnny", Amelia shouted. Her raised voice had woken Brandon up and he began crying again.

"Please just let me explain myself", he begged, taking a few steps towards her.

Amelia had no intention of listening to what Johnny had to say. He had hurt her more than she thought possible. However, if she let him have his say, perhaps he would go away. She retreated to the bedroom where she had left Brandon, locking the door behind her. He could have his say but she wasn't going to stand there and look at him.

"Say what you have to and then get out", she shouted from the bedroom. Brandon was safely back in her arms and she tried to sooth him once again.

"Amelia is this really necessary?" Johnny asked looking at the locked door in front of him.

"Was lying to me and betraying my trust really necessary?" Amelia retorted.

From the tone of her voice, Johnny could tell that Amelia was far angrier than she was upset. He had never had to deal with an angry Amelia before. He wasn't sure how to approach this situation.

"I'm sorry for lying about the film. I was just trying to protect you." Once step at a time, he told himself.

Amelia heard him sit down on the other side of the door. "I don't give a shit about your stupid little film Johnny and I don't need you to protect me", was her response.

Johnny took a deep breath. That was only to be expected.

"I'm sorry Amelia. I made a mistake with the whole Bam thing. I know I should have told you about it. I just thought..."

Amelia cut him off. "Well you thought wrong didn't you. I can't believe you would do something like this. I thought I could trust you."

"It's not like I agreed to his offer Amelia, you have to believe me." The desperation in his voice was clear, even through the wooden door.

"Whether you agreed to it or not, it doesn't make a difference. You still betrayed me."

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought if I told you it would just make matters worse. You've had enough on your plate as it is."

Amelia had no time for his pathetic excuses. "Even so, don't you think I had a right to know about this 'offer'. I mean, the whole point of the deal was over my life wasn't it?"

This was what had hurt Amelia the most, the fact that Johnny had kept Bam's offer from her when it had the potential to affect both her and her son's life.

"What if I was scared that you'd want to take up his offer? That you'd leave me?"

Amelia felt another lump rise in her throat. How could he think that she would actually agree with Bam's deal? "Well that just shows how little you know and trust me Johnny."

"Amelia. Come on. Let's not make a big deal out of this", Johnny pleaded, knocking on the bedroom door. "We're stronger than this right? We can work this out."

"Don't you realise Johnny? After what Bam did to me, I never thought I'd be able to trust again and you've proved me right. I thought you were different but you're just like the rest. So I apologise if I'm making a 'big deal' out of this, but how can we ever go back to the way we were before?"

Johnny didn't know what to say. Amelia was completely right. It didn't matter what he had lied about and what he had kept from her. The point was that he had done it at all and he had ruined everything.

Either side of the door they sat in silence for several minutes. Johnny was trying to digest what Amelia had said and Amelia was trying not to cry. She closed her eyes and concentrated her mind on Brandon who was now sitting quietly in her arms, wondering what was going on. As each second went by the realisation of what Johnny had done was sinking in further. He had ruined everything.

After the most painful five minutes of both their lives Johnny finally spoke up.

"I need to go and pick Madison up but I'll be straight back. We need to talk this through."

Amelia found she had neither the strength nor the inclination to reply.


	39. An Unlikely Ally

Amelia waited in the bedroom until she was certain that Johnny had completely left the apartment. The building was so quiet that she could hear his car pull off outside and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that she'd had a few moments to dwell on the situation, Amelia realised that her anger had subsided and she felt numb. In her experience this was just a short term coping mechanism. The tears and frustration would return later. Until then she needed to decide what she was going to do.

She climbed to her feet and put Brandon down on the bed before lying down beside him. He looked the picture of calm and she envied him. A few hours ago she had been just as content as the little boy and in less than five minutes her entire world had been turned upside down. Everything she thought she knew was falling to pieces; her friends, her work, her relationship.

Johnny was not the only person she was pissed with. She couldn't believe that those closest to her, Jeff and Steve, would keep her in the dark about the possibility of another movie. Perhaps they thought she wouldn't be able to cope with working with Bam. Well, that proved just how much they thought of her.

The thing that upset Amelia the most, however, was that her life in LA was rapidly starting to resemble the disaster of West Chester. Maybe her mother had been right at Christmas when she'd chastised Amelia for not learning from her failed marriage. Maybe she should have looked for someone more 'stable' after all.

Amelia closed her eyes. In the back of her mind were all the promises Johnny had made and how each of them was now meaningless. Johnny. Her best friend, the only person she had ever been able to trust. What a joke that was.

As she brought her hands up to her face she caught a glimpse of her bracelet and in particular, the infinity charm that Johnny had given her just a few days ago. It seemed like some kind of bad omen, now that she thought about it. She considered taking it off but it didn't seem worth the trouble.

Glancing at her watch instead, Amelia realised that she had been daydreaming for almost fifteen minutes. The prospect of Johnny returning soon was not a welcome one. She needed space to sort her head out and if he was coming back here then she had to get away.

In a matter of minutes, Amelia had thrown some clothes into Brandon's baby bag and they were back in the car. She had no idea where they were going to go, all that mattered was that Johnny would not be able to find her.

In the commotion, Amelia had forgotten that neither she nor Brandon had eaten anything since breakfast and as she drove through the streets of down town LA, Brandon started to complain that he was hungry.

Johnny picked Madison up from her swimming lesson just in time. As they drove towards Mel's house, Madison could tell there was something up with her dad but she decided not to ask. Johnny was thankful for this. How could he explain to his fourteen year old daughter that he had once again managed to fuck up a relationship?

Bidding Madison goodbye as she jumped out of the car, Johnny faked his best smile. Inside he was dying. All of his gut feelings about telling Amelia the truth had been right, but it was too late. Now what was he supposed to do? This wasn't going to be as simple as some flowers and an apology. Johnny had known that Amelia was fragile when they had started their relationship. He really should have treated her with more care, rather than hurting her in the same way as Bam.

Before he could make his way back to Amelia's apartment his phone began to ring. Anxious that it might be Amelia, he pulled the phone from his pocket, only to see Jeff's name flashing on the caller ID. He sighed loudly but took the call nonetheless.

"Hey dude. Have you spoken to Amelia? Laura's tried ringing her but she's not picking up." If Jeff sounded anxious it was nothing in comparison to how Johnny was feeling.

"Yes." Johnny replied shortly. "For all the good it did."

"Why, what did she say?"

"It's no good Jeff. I've royally fucked this up", Johnny groaned into the phone.

He proceeded to tell Jeff how his attempt at reconciliation with Amelia had gone.

"It seems a little harsh", Jeff thought. "I mean, I know you lied and stuff, but it's not like you agreed to go along with Bam's stupid deal."

If only it was that simple.

Johnny rubbed his temple with his free hand. "I know Jeff and I said that to her, but that's not the point. As far as she's concerned, it's Bam all over again. I lied to her and betrayed her. She'll never trust me again."

Bam was quietly minding his own business in the car park of the convenience store when a familiar looking vehicle pulled up a few spaces away from his rental car. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he glanced at the registration plate just to be sure.

No way, Bam thought to himself as he watched the driver climb out with the little boy in tow. This was too good to be true. He stubbed out his joint on the pavement and climbed out of his own car to wait patiently for the mother and child to return from the store.

After a few minutes Bam saw the woman reappear, holding her son's hand with one arm and a grocery bag with the other. Bam was preparing himself to gloat as the woman walked towards him but as she drew closer and he saw the look in her eye, he immediately wiped the smirk from his lips.

The devastation on Amelia's face, although not blindingly obvious from a distance, was enough to change Bam's mind. When he had first spotted her car he was prepared to jump on the opportunity of winding her up but now he just could not bring himself to follow through with it. He had caused her enough pain.

Amelia was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't even notice him standing there as she fumbled around for her keys. It was the little boy who recognised Bam and started pulling towards him. Amelia looked up from her purse to see who Brandon had spotted and her face turned sour.

"Just go to hell Bam." Amelia shook her head and went back to searching for her keys. She had no time for him right now.

"Nice to see you too," Bam pouted. He smiled down at Brandon who was fighting to get free from his mother's grasp.

"Whatever you were going to say, don't bother. I really don't want to hear it." Amelia told him plainly, finally finding her keys and unlocking the door.

"I wasn't going to say anything." he paused. "I wasn't, really."

"Sure you weren't." She raised her eyebrow at him before opening the back door and throwing in the grocery bag.

"Ok fine I was, but I had a change of heart." Bam shrugged and pulled his best 'honest' face.

"I didn't realise you had a heart." Amelia didn't bother to look at him as she picked the struggling toddler up and tried to fasten him into the child seat.

Bam put a hand to his chest, pretending to be hurt as he watched Amelia wrestle with Brandon, finally getting him secured in the seat.

"Like I said Bam, I don't want to hear it. I haven't got time." She closed the back door and started to make her way round to the driver's side.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were running away", Bam observed. He could see the bag in the back of the car.

"Well you don't know better", Amelia retorted.

Before she could take another step however, Bam had taken her by the wrist. "Please, can we talk?"

The touch of his skin on hers surprised Amelia and she jerked her hand away as if she had been burnt. "I have nothing to say to you Bam."

"Well I have lots to say to you. Don't you think it's about time we had a talk?" He didn't really have lots to say to her, but he thought that this was what she needed to hear.

To be perfectly honest, yes Amelia did think they should talk. She didn't tell him this however but she didn't walk away either.

"Come on. What do you have to lose? You already know what a dick I am. What can I do to possibly make things worse between us?"

Bam was right. He was the only person Amelia did not feel betrayed by right now and it felt strangely comforting.

"I really just want to be alone right now Bam." She felt her defence starting to fall and she wished he would just leave her be.

"Ok." Bam hesitated. "So you are running away."

Amelia's lack of reply gave her away.

"I'm guessing you have nowhere to go, right?" he continued.

Amelia sighed wearily. "I hadn't thought that far ahead", she admitted.

Bam started to dig around in his pocket, earning a suspicious look from Amelia. "Well here's the key to my hotel room. You can stay there if you like. I mean, I'm probably going to be out all the time anyway. There's no sense in letting it go to waste."

"You must be joking." Amelia stared at him incredulously.

"Your loss", Bam shrugged casually, putting the card back in his pocket, before pulling his cigarette packet out and offering one to Amelia.

Amelia gave him a funny look but accepted anyway. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Trying to be nice to me", she frowned. She didn't like it. Bam had been nothing but horrible to her for a year now and she'd grown used to it. This nice Bam was unsettling.

Bam shrugged again. "I wasn't trying to be nice. I was just trying not to be horrible."

Amelia eyed him suspiciously. She didn't trust a word that came out of his mouth and yet, somehow she sensed that he was telling the truth. There was nothing he could do anymore that would shock or upset her. Perhaps that was exactly what she needed right now; someone who couldn't hurt her anymore.

"Never mind, it was just an idea. I'll leave you to it." Bam turned and started to walk back to his car. There was no point in pushing Amelia. That was going to get neither of them very far.

Watching him make his way back to the rental car, eventually Amelia's resolve weakened. She had spent all her negative energy focusing on Johnny, with none left for Bam. Besides which, the truth was, she didn't really want to be alone right now.

"Fine. Let's talk", she shouted after him.

Bam stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder to where Amelia was still standing. "You want to talk?"

She nodded silently.


	40. Questions and Answers

Amelia insisted on driving her car to the hotel, on the grounds that Bam was clearly high. She could only assume that this was the reason for him being... well, not horrible to her. The journey was spent in silence. For someone she had once been so close to, being around Bam now felt incredibly awkward.

Before they got to the room, Amelia decided that she had better make a few things clear. "We need to establish a few ground rules Bam."

He looked at her in bemusement. "Go ahead", he shrugged.

Amelia took a deep breath. "First of all, I still hate you." She looked at him hard.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I would expect nothing less."

"Good. Secondly, the only reason I am here is because I have nowhere else to go right now." This was not strictly true. Amelia could have easily rented her own hotel room but this particular idea seemed to have slipped her mind.

"Sure." Bam unlocked the door and they walked inside. "While we're on the subject of ground rules, just because I've invited you here doesn't mean I'm going to apologise for anything I've said or done." He turned and looked at Amelia, as if daring her to object. After all, she was his guest now.

Bam took her lack of response as an acceptance of this and continued. "And as it happens, I have a date tonight so I'll be out of your way soon enough."

"Good for you", Amelia smirked. She was hardly surprised by this and could only feel sorry for his next unfortunate victim.

Bam grinned wickedly. "Well I'm glad we've got that sorted."

Amelia took Brandon over to the sofa and sat down. Her phone had not stopped vibrating since she had left the apartment but she had no desire to answer it. Instead, she unwrapped Brandon's sandwich and he tucked into it happily.

In the meantime Bam pottered around the room for a little while, almost entirely ignoring Amelia. It was proving to be somewhat difficult being around the woman who he'd been focusing all of his hatred on for so long.

While Bam was getting on with his business, it didn't take long for Amelia to grow fed up with the silence. The reason they were here was to talk and she had plenty to say to him. The question was where to start? By confronting her issues with Bam, perhaps she could take her mind off Johnny for a while.

"I take it Knoxville didn't tell you about our conversation at the wedding?" Bam beat her to it, taking a bottle of vodka from the mini bar and pouring two glasses. He handed one to Amelia.

"What do you think?" Amelia raised an eyebrow at him but willingly accepted the drink.

Bam leant casually against the counter. "That sucks." He paused, deep in thought. "Sucks even more the way you found out."

Amelia took a large gulp of vodka and shook her head. "If I didn't know better I would have said you planned all of this."

Bam nearly spat his drink out in amusement. "Credit where credit's due Amelia, but I had no idea you were going to show up at the office."

"That's exactly what you wanted though, isn't it?" She watched him take a large gulp of his drink.

Bam shrugged. The possibility of Amelia finding out about his deal with Knoxville had never really crossed his mind and he had not had time to consider how this might affect him personally.

"What did you want Bam? What did you expect to gain?" Her eyes pierced towards him and she finished her drink in another mouthful. Now was not the time to get drunk, but the vodka would give her the confidence she needed to continue this awkward and delicate conversation.

"I would have thought that was obvious." Bam rolled his own eyes. "I wanted him to leave you."

The tension in the air was deadly. Brandon even stopped mid bite, to look up at his parents out of curiosity. Despite everything Amelia wanted to say to Bam right then, she held her tongue. Most of the words that sprang to mind were not suitable to say in front of their son anyway. After a moment's hesitation the best she could come up with was "well its win-win for you then."

Bam considered this for a moment. His eyes widened when he realised what she was suggesting. His jaw opened slightly. "You mean you're leaving him?"

Amelia did not respond and her eyes fell to the floor. She had not had enough time to make a decision on her future with Johnny, but right now she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

Bam scratched his head. This news should have satisfied him, but just like the look on Amelia's face as she had left the convenience store, he found himself held back. He was about to question her, but something made him think better of it. Instead he got up and poured another drink for the two of them. She looked like she needed it.

Amelia gratefully accepted the refill and took another sip of vodka as she continued to stare at the ground.

"I forgot to congratulate you on that magazine article." Amelia smirked at Bam before he had chance to ask any follow up questions.

Bam began to laugh. "Oh yeah. Brilliant wasn't it? Really got my point across. Shame it had nothing to do with me."

"I thought as much", Amelia admitted. "For all your faults, I could never imagine you painting a bad picture of yourself", she paused for a second. "So who was it?"

The fact that Amelia had believed him caught Bam off guard. "That's it? You really didn't think it was me?"

Amelia shook her head and watched Brandon as he ate. Anticipating his boredom, Amelia found the television remote and put on the kids' channel.

After staring at her in surprise for a few moments, Bam explained that a rather scorned Terri had gone straight to the press after he had finished with her.

"So is any of it true?" Amelia looked at him firmly.

A snort came from Bam as he poured himself a third drink. "You tell me. Did you sleep with Knoxville while we were together?"

"No!" Amelia exclaimed indignantly. "But I wasn't on about that. I meant the drugs Bam."

It was Bam's turn to look at the floor. "I don't want to talk about it." He had invited Amelia here to talk about her problems, not his.

In no mood to push him, Amelia decided to drop it. "Fine. I won't say anything", she conceded, but Bam's response had told her enough.

An awkward silence returned to the air and Amelia decided to check her vibrating phone. Ignoring all contact from Johnny and the other dicks at the office, she spotted her sister's name on the caller ID. By now Rose was sure to have heard everything that had happened from Ryan. Amelia sighed knowing it was probably best to deal with her sister sooner rather than later.

Not bothered by Bam's presence in the room, Amelia accepted the call and heard the familiar and rather frantic voice of her younger sister.

"Amelia, what the hell is going on? I've been trying to call you all afternoon. Ryan told me what happened, obviously. Are you ok? Where are you? Johnny's been looking for you. We're all really worried."

Eventually Rose paused for breath and Amelia was allowed to get a word in. "What is this? Twenty questions?"

Rose's silence told Amelia that she was not impressed by her attempt at humour.

"If Ryan told you what happened then you know exactly how I am and why Johnny can't find me."

"Amelia", Rose scolded. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Questions", Amelia corrected her. "Fine. I'm sorry for not answering earlier but I didn't want to talk to anyone. As for how I am? I'm feeling pretty shitty right now after finding out that my best friend, the man I love, has been lying to me."

"Understandable", Rose admitted. "Ryan said Johnny went round to your apartment to apologise, but you wouldn't see him."

"Nope. Why should I?" Amelia demanded bitterly, annoyed that they'd been talking behind her back.

"Did you even give him chance to explain himself?"

"Yes, not that it makes any difference."

Rose sighed heavily. "Come on Amelia, everyone makes mistakes. You put up with a lot worse from Bam."

Amelia found herself looking across the room at the man in question and her stomach jolted. What would Rose say if she could see her older sister now?

Shaking this thought from her mind, Amelia attempted to counter Rose's argument. "That doesn't mean I should forgive Johnny for breaking my trust though, does it? Surely it makes his betrayal even worse." Amelia found herself struggling to defend her own decisions now.

"I'm not saying you should forgive him straight away, but at least talk things through with him. You've been through so much together. Don't you think he deserves a second chance?"

Amelia ignored her sister's question. Giving Johnny a second chance was the furthest thing from her mind right now. She was more worried about Rose finding out that she was sitting in a hotel room with her soon to be ex husband.

"I've got to go Rose. I'll call you later."

"Where are you Amelia?" Rose sounded worried.

"I'm staying with a friend", and with that Amelia ended the call.

She threw her head into her hands in despair. Rose's words had hit her hard. Why had she come here? What exactly had she hoped to gain from talking to Bam? It was only a matter of time before he resorted to his old ways and she would be left feeling stupid and even angrier. He didn't really want to help her. Being nice to Amelia now was surely just his way of gaining points over Johnny. Perhaps that was exactly what she was doing too.

"A friend?" Bam repeated.

Amelia did not rise from her position. "This was a mistake. I knew I shouldn't have come", she mumbled into her hands. The alcohol was now coursing through her body and although she did not feel drunk, she could feel her heart rate increasing and her palms sweating.

"What? Because your little sister reminded you of what a terrible person I am?" Bam mocked.

"She didn't need to remind me." Amelia sat up and looked him in the eye.

Bam shook his head. "Well you've changed your tune. I thought we were getting on."

"No we weren't Bam. How could we? After all the things you've done..." Amelia rubbed her temple. The guilt niggled at her.

"Maybe you were right. You shouldn't have come", Bam snapped as he cut her off in agreement. He had tried being civilised with Amelia but she was obviously not prepared to do the same. After draining his glass, Bam stood up and continued. "But it doesn't really matter anymore because I'm going out."

"You are?" Amelia looked up at him, slightly alarmed. She'd forgotten all about his date.

"Yup", Bam nodded as he pulled on his jacket. "Don't wait up", he winked. Grabbing his keys and wallet, Bam made his way towards the door.

Watching him leave, a strange and uncomfortable sensation overtook Amelia. As conniving and unpredictable as he could be, she realised she didn't want Bam to go and leave her alone. Why, she could not say.

"Bam", Amelia squeaked timidly.

He had just opened the door when he looked over his shoulder in surprise. "What?"

"Please don't go."

With that a tidal wave of tears came flooding from Amelia's eyes. It was impossible for her to hold them back any longer, although she wasn't entirely sure what she was crying about. Her hold body shook as she started to sob and Brandon looked up from his cartoons and stared at his mother anxiously.

Bam observed the scene in shock. For a moment he did not know what to do, but instinct, although a distant memory, soon took over. Dropping his keys and letting the door slam shut, Bam moved swiftly over to the sofa and took Amelia in his arms, his body absorbing every tremble as Amelia cried her eyes out.

For a while Bam sat quietly, just holding Amelia in his arms. Despite the temptation he did not stroke her hair or rub her back. He was afraid to move for fear that he would only make matters worse. At the same time it was surprising how natural it felt to have her so close to him again. The scent of her perfume and the softness of her hair, he would never forget. What a fool he had been to ever let her go.

Eventually Amelia's crying seemed to subside and she managed to catch her breath. Only then did she realise where she was. The scent of peppermint and cigarettes, mingled with aftershave told her that she was currently in her husband's arms. Despite how angry she was with him, the familiar warmth of his body was comforting. She'd never thought that she could feel safe in his arms again.

"I'm sorry", Amelia stammered, finally pulling away and feeling shame wash over her. "I don't know what came over me."

Bam bit his lip but did not move from the sofa. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"It's ok Bam, really. You'd better go. Your date will be waiting." Surprisingly, Bam had actually done nothing wrong.

Bam looked at Amelia, unsure. Suddenly the prospect of going on this date and being with another woman made him feel unclean inside. Amelia had asked him to stay and he knew that he would.

"I don't think I'll bother", he decided. "That is, if you don't mind me staying. I promise to be nice."

Although the idea of Bam being nice was somewhat difficult to imagine, Amelia was grateful for him staying nonetheless. A familiar face, no matter what the circumstance, was definitely preferable to being alone with her thoughts.

"I don't mind", she whispered.


	41. More Questions and Answers

Johnny was hardly surprised to find that Amelia had disappeared from the apartment while he had been picking Madison up. He probably would have done exactly the same thing. There was no reason why she would want to hang round waiting for the man who had broken her heart. After driving around for a while, wondering where she might have gone and ringing his friends in the hope that they had seen or heard from her, Johnny realised this venture was pointless. Amelia simply didn't want to see him right now, who could blame her, and he would just have to wait until she changed her mind.

As soon as he had decided to surrender his search, Johnny found himself pulling up outside his favourite bar in downtown LA and before his brain could engage; his legs were carrying him out of the car and towards the entrance. Perhaps this was exactly what he needed right now; something to take his mind off the day's events.

In the space of fifteen minutes, Johnny had worked his way through three double measures of whiskey and was just about to start on his fourth. While the alcohol was indeed having a soothing effect on him, try as he might, Johnny could not take his mind off his current situation. How could he have been so utterly stupid? He should have known that nothing good could come from keeping secrets from Amelia. He loved her. They were supposed to share everything. How could they have a future together if she could no longer trust him?

Johnny swallowed his fourth shot and slammed the empty glass down on the bar. There was nothing like taking anger out on inanimate objects.

"Same again?" The bartender looked at him warily. Although the two men went way back and had often shared a few laughs together, Johnny was grateful for the man's ability to tell when Johnny was not in the mood to talk.

Johnny simply grunted his response and nodded his head in a gesture of thanks as his glass was quickly refilled. He glanced at his vibrating phone in the faint hope that Amelia might have changed her mind already, but he had no such luck. It was Jeff, no doubt calling to check up on him. Johnny switched his phone off. It was going to be a long night and the only friend he needed right now was warm, very comforting and burnt slightly as it made its way down his throat.

In a hotel room not very far away from the bar, Amelia and Bam were once again sitting on opposite sofas. They had avoided eye contact for a while, until Bam thought to offer Amelia another drink. He wasn't stupid. Alcohol would not solve anything but for the moment he could not think of an alternative, so he called for room service and plenty of wine.

As Amelia she reached over to accept a glass from him, the silver bracelet on her wrist caught his eye. After passing her the glass Bam gently took her wrist in his hand and inspected the chain.

"You never took it off", he observed, pointing at the dolphin charm. "Why not?"

Amelia suddenly felt embarrassed and pulled her hand away. "I don't know", she muttered. And that was the truth.

Bam let his own hand fall to his lap and he looked at her curiously. The wedding and engagement rings had been returned to him care of April, not long after Amelia had left. When Bam had found the heart shaped necklace on his bedside table after his wife's unexpected return to West Chester, he'd taken it as a sign that she wanted him out of her life for good, but he'd completely forgotten about the charm. He wondered what the significance of this might be, but he knew better than to ask.

They continued to drink in silence and Amelia found herself absorbed in Brandon's cartoons. Staring at the television, the brightly coloured blobs dancing across the screen seemed to be having a hypnotising effect on her, although the alcohol probably had something to do with it. Either way, it was easier than having to face reality. Especially seeing as Amelia's current reality was sitting in a hotel room with the man who was hell bent on ruining her life.

Amelia glanced down at Brandon who was also fascinated by the cartoons, the picture of content. Whatever was going on between the adults, he seemed uninterested.

"Why?" she asked Bam after a while.

His brow furrowed. "Why what?"

"Why did you do all this?" she continued to look at the little boy. Their son. "We could have made this work, you know."

"Me and you?" He stared at her, wide eyed.

"I meant the custody arrangement Bam", she corrected him, although the same could have been said for their relationship once upon time. "Why did you have to make this so hard?"

"Oh right", he acknowledged, trying to mask the disappointment in his voice and he too turned his gaze to Brandon. "Do you want the truth?" He looked at Amelia, as if to warn her off this path.

"That's all I've ever wanted from you Bam", she sighed.

Bam took a deep breath.

"As far as I can remember, I've always been incapable of loving someone, you know", he sighed. "Every girlfriend I've had since I was at school, I really thought I was into them but eventually I would always get bored and fuck it up. Most of them couldn't handle me, like with the excessive partying and ridiculous lifestyle. Others were in love with me but I cheated on them."

He avoided eye contact with Amelia as he spoke and she remained silent as she listened.

"At first it was different with Jenn. I thought I could actually love her and I know that she loved me but I fucked it up with the partying. When she cheated on me I knew I didn't love her after all." Bam paused for breath, realising he was starting to ramble.

"And then I met you." He looked up at Amelia, his expression unreadable.

"I met you and it was like my whole world changed. For the first time in my life I actually had to fight for you and prove myself. I was worried that I wasn't good enough for you and it looks like I was right."

Bam sighed loudly and took a large gulp of his drink.

"When you finally agreed to be with me, it was the happiest moment. We were so good together and I knew for the first time in my life that I was in love with you. But at the same time I was so scared of losing you that I nearly drove you and all my friends away with my jealously when we were filming the movie."

Amelia fought to keep her emotions inside as she recalled everything that he was talking about; the frustration of his behaviour.

"I loved you so much Amelia. Everything was perfect until I found out that you were pregnant."

Bam frowned as if realising what he had just said.

"Don't get me wrong, I was over the moon at first but then I started to panic. What if I suddenly stopped loving you? What if I'd never really loved you in the first place, like Jenn? How could we bring up a child together if I was going to make the same mistakes as I had with every other girlfriend?... So I ran away."

Bam's gaze fell to floor again. He realised he wasn't articulating himself very well but he needed to get the point across to Amelia, no matter how painful it was.

"Dunn and Knoxville found me and brought me back home. They talked some sense into me and for a while I thought that I could actually make this work. I was sure that I still loved you so I asked you to marry me, but at the back of my mind I never stopped worrying that something would change. I didn't trust my feelings for you not to change as they had with everyone else. I didn't want to hurt you but it was almost inevitable. Like I said, I've always been incapable of truly loving someone."

Amelia looked sadly over at him. It hurt her to think that he felt this way about himself, even after the pain he had caused her.

"Everything was perfect again when Brandon was born and with the marriage. I really thought we had a chance at a happy ever after, but once again the doubt started to spring up and I ended up driving you away."

"Foolishly I thought that spending less time together would help. I couldn't get bored of you if we saw less of each other. That's why I took you off the show and it's the worst mistake I ever made. I drove you straight to Knoxville and lost you for good."

Bam put his head in his hands and fell silent for some time. Amelia couldn't tell whether or not he was crying. She sure felt like crying after listening to his revelation. It explained so much, yet at the same time so little.

"I'm confused Bam", Amelia frowned. "That doesn't explain any of your actions recently."

Bam lifted his head and looked Amelia in the eye. She could see from his wet cheeks that he had in fact been crying.

"When you left me Amelia, all the doubt disappeared. I realised for the first time that I really did love you. It took you to leave for me to realise this and I hate myself for it."

Amelia was about to interject that this still didn't explain his behaviour but he beat her to it.

"The reason I've been such a dick to you is because I feel jealous and angry and betrayed by you and Knoxville..." he paused. "I know I have no right to feel that way, because all of this is my fault, but I can't stop myself. I feel so bitter and twisted inside Amelia. The pain of losing you has driven me insane. I can't eat, I can't sleep. You're all I think about every minute of every day."

Bam ran his fingers through his hair anxiously.

"I wanted you to know how much this has hurt me, but the only way I know how is to cause you just as much pain."

Amelia found herself lost for words, and she stared emotionless at the television once again.

"I don't really hate you Amelia. I could never hate you and I'm sorry for all the horrible things I've said and done. The truth is, stupid despite everything that has happened I know for certain, without a trace of doubt, that I love you. I always have and I always will."


	42. Regrets

"...I love you. I always have and I always will."

Amelia found herself speechless as she stared at Bam. She was having trouble allowing his words to sink in and could not bring herself to look him in the eye. After everything he had said and done to her over the past year, how was she supposed to believe this?

As she tried desperately to think of something to say, she realised that Brandon had fallen asleep while Bam had been talking. Time seemed to have flown by and it was getting late.

"I need to put Brandon to bed", she managed to mumble without meeting Bam's eye.

"You can have the bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch", Bam croaked, his voice failing him.

"Thanks", she nodded, scooping the sleeping toddler into her arms and making her way to the bedroom at the other side of the suite. She could feel Bam's eyes on her as she walked away.

Amelia's mind was still racing as she tucked Brandon up in bed. The alcohol was making her head feel fuzzy but at the same time it seemed to have taken the edge off her emotions and as far as she was concerned right now, this could only be a good thing. Once Brandon was settled in bed she returned to the main room and proceeded to pour herself another glass of wine.

Bam had not moved an inch since she'd left. His eyes seemed puffy from tears and he was staring blankly into space. Amelia sat back down opposite him and took a large sip of wine, enjoying the feeling as the alcohol trickled down her throat. She observed Bam in silence for a while, trying to make sense of the situation.

Bam still loved her? How was that possible after the way he had treated her recently? He had effectively put a wrecking ball through their relationship and her life, and now she was supposed to believe that he was in love with her. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation and Bam's track record, the look on his face made it difficult for Amelia to write him off immediately. She was sure she had never seen nor heard him sounding so sincere.

By the time Amelia had finished her glass, her head was definitely spinning. Bam continued to slump in his seat, staring awkwardly at the ground, only moving to take an occasionally sip of his drink. Amelia began to feel restless. All thoughts of Johnny and the morning's situation were firmly at the back of her mind.

Amelia leant towards the table and helped herself to another bottle. Bam looked up at the sudden movement and their eyes locked for a second.

"How am I supposed to believe anything you just said Bam?" she raised her eyebrow at him as she poured herself another drink. She was feeling much more confident than she would have been without the alcohol.

Bam shrugged. He had not anticipated the question. In fact, he had been pretty sure that she was not going to say anything to him for the remainder of the night. "I don't know", he mumbled. "I guess I don't expect you to believe me, I just had to get it all off my chest. Despite what you might think, I've not exactly been having a great time lately. My head's in pieces."

Amelia sighed heavily. She knew the feeling. Her whole world had been turned upside down in less than twenty four hours. She stared at her hands and the dolphin charm caught her eye again. Why had she kept it? Frowning to herself, Amelia refused to entertain the notion that it was somehow a big deal.

"I'm not saying I don't believe you Bam", she bit her lip. "But I don't know what you expect to gain by telling me this. Did you expect this to change anything?"

Bam stared at her in surprise. "I didn't expect anything", he told her sincerely. "Like I said, I just needed to get it off my chest. I've been a dick to you because I'm pissed with myself for ruining our relationship. I've taken all my frustration out on you and for that I am really sorry. I know it's too late to start apologising. I should have told you this a long time ago. I should have told you how goddamn much I love you a very long time ago. I don't know if it would have changed anything, but it would have been a good start."

Bam rubbed his eyes and watched Amelia hesitantly for her reaction. He suddenly realised how vulnerable he felt after spilling his heart out to her and the alcohol was not helping matters. He'd never told anyone else about this. Who would have believed him? Amelia's eyes had started to water again and Bam felt the overwhelming urge to take her in his arms. He would have given anything to be able to make everything all right.

Amelia did not flinch as Bam made his way over to her on the sofa. She though he was going to put his arms around her but he simply offered her a tissue. She felt slightly disappointed. Since the moment she overheard Johnny that morning she'd felt intensely alone and she was craving some kind of comfort. This was the last place she could have expected to find it.

Accepting the tissue from Bam, Amelia wiped her eyes, ignoring the mascara that had stained her cheeks. There was a lump in her throat and she realised she was in danger of crying again. Her head was in such a mess. Half of her felt like screaming, shouting and breaking things, the other half just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. With the amount of alcohol that was currently coursing through her veins, the self destruction path was looking more and more inviting.

"What am I doing wrong?" Amelia looked at Bam and sighed. "Ever since I came to America my life has been spiralling out of control."

"You've done nothing wrong", Bam assured her. "You're an amazing woman and an amazing mother. If I had to pick one fault though, it would be your decision to get involved with a bunch of Jackasses", Bam laughed slightly.

Amelia couldn't help but smile at this. "I suppose that is where I went wrong."

"I can't believe that you didn't run a mile after the green paint incident", Bam mused.

"Neither can I", Amelia continued to smile, thinking back to the first time she met Bam.

"I've not seen you smile like that in a long time", Bam observed, inching closer to Amelia. "You're even more beautiful when you smile."

Amelia tried desperately not to blush. It was strange that a compliment from her husband should make her feel so awkward.

"What made you stay? I mean, why did you put up with it...us...me, for so long? I didn't exactly make things easy for you, did I?"

Amelia thought about this for a few moments. Why did she stay and make a go of things on the show, despite how hard it had been at times, despite how much Bam had wound her up? The easy answer was that she didn't want people to think she was a failure and that she couldn't hack the job, but that was not entirely true. No one would have blamed her for quitting. She'd had no idea what she was getting into when she turned up on Bam's doorstep all those years ago. How could she have ever expected what came next?

No. The truth was she'd loved every minute of it. The pranks, the stunts, the guys, April and Phil...And of course Bam. She'd loved him too. Yes, loved. But did she still feel the same way? So much had changed since then.

"Amelia?"

"Oh sorry, I was just remembering..." she trailed off. A faint smile still played across her lips as she took a sip of wine. "There are lots of reasons why I stayed."

Bam's eyes twinkled under the warm light. "Like us?"

"You and the guys? Well sure. We had some good times didn't we? You always had me in hysterics."

"That's not what I meant." He moved slightly closer again in order to fill her glass.

"Oh." Amelia looked at him warily.

"I meant you and me, Amelia. Is that why you stayed? I need to know..."

Amelia took a deep breath. "Oh Bam, of course I stayed for you. God knows I should have gone straight back to England after the first time you kissed me, but I didn't." She paused, realising she had put her hand against his.

"Do you regret it?" Bam asked, squeezing her hand gently.

Amelia raised her eyebrow slightly but her lips twitched. "Which bit of it?"

"All of it? Any of it?"

"Do I regret staying to work with you? No. Do I regret letting myself fall in love with you? I'm not sure."

"I regret every time I've ever let you walk away from me", Bam looked at the floor, but continued to hold her hand. "Too bad I never knew a good thing until I lost it."

Amelia squeezed his hand back, wondering where her newfound sense of sympathy for him had come from.

"The biggest mistake I ever made was losing you Amelia", he sighed. "Please will you do one thing for me? I know I don't deserve anything from you, but I think I'll go crazy if I never know the answer."

"The answer to what?"

"When did you stop being in love with me?" He looked at her sadly.

Amelia gulped. She could feel her pulse quicken, her heart was pounding against her ribcage. "Oh Bam. I don't know that I ever stopped."

Jeff found Johnny slumped across a table at the back of the bar. The bartender nodded his head in appreciation as Jeff walked past. He hadn't been entirely surprised to receive the phone call, asking him to come and fetch his rather inebriated friend.

"Come on buddy, let's get you home", Jeff sighed, looping an arm around Johnny and pulling him to his feet. The empty whisky glass clattered to the floor and Jeff grimaced apologetically at the barman.

"I don't wanna go home", Johnny slurred insistently.

"Well you can't stay here", Jeff laughed as he attempted to support Johnny while guiding him to the exit at the same time.

"Please Jeff", Johnny looked at his friend with sad eyes. "I can't go home to an empty house."

Jeff considered this for a moment. He could hardly leave his friend alone in this state. Laura was already in bed and as long as they didn't make too much noise, there was no problem with taking Johnny back to his house.

"You're not going home PJ", Jeff told him gently. "You're coming back with me."

Jeff was quiet on the drive home. Johnny was slumped against the window in the passenger seat of his car. Jeff could hear his best friend crying softly to himself and he wished there was something he could do to help. He hated seeing Johnny like this, but what could he do? He'd rang around that evening trying to locate Amelia in the hopes that he could play mediator, but no one had seen her.


	43. Feeling Something

"Do you really mean that?" Bam asked Amelia, unable to mask the sound of shock in his voice.

"Yes", Amelia breathed, her voice was barely above a whisper. There was no point in denying it anymore.

"So you're saying you're still in love with me?"

"Yes."

"After everything I've done to you?" Bam could not bring himself to make eye contact with her, nor could he allow himself to imagine what this revelation might mean. There were so many thoughts running through his head, thoughts of hope and desire.

"Don't ask me to try explaining it Bam, I can't. I just...I don't know..." Amelia sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. She needed to lie down. She'd had too much to drink. "Despite everything that's happened...what we had was serious, wasn't it?'

Bam nodded slightly. And he's gone and thrown it all away.

"I don't know what to say", Bam scratched his head.

"That must be a first." Amelia's lips twitched.

Bam laughed and finally looked at Amelia, noticing her eyes were wet with tears. "Hey, don't cry." He rubbed her arm gently.

"I'm sorry", Amelia laughed slightly, wiping her eyes. "I can't stop crying lately. Like I said, my life is just spiralling out of control!"

"Please don't say sorry to me Amelia. It's the last thing you should be saying", Bam grimaced. A sudden and strong desire to turn back time had taken over him. What he would have given to be able to undo this mess and hold the woman in front of him again. Everything he had ever wanted was right here in this hotel room.

"I don't know what else to say", she shrugged hopelessly, returning her gaze to the floor.

"Then don't say anything."

Before either of them knew what was happening, Bam had pulled Amelia into his arms and their lips were locked in a passionate embrace. The alcohol running through Amelia's system was telling her not to fight it. This was inevitable and there was nothing she could do to stop it now anyway. She was powerless to resist the touch of her husband. An electric pulse rippled down Amelia's spine as her body responded to the sensation of his cold hands on her skin. Bam tightened his grip around her waist and as he increased the urgency of the kiss, Amelia began to kiss him back. The taste of Bam no longer felt like a distant memory to her, it brought so many emotions flooding back to the surface of her conscience.

As they kissed, every other kiss they'd ever shared replayed in her mind. She remembered the very first time they had kissed. Bam had attacked her with a paintbrush after Phil's blue paint day and before she knew it she was in his arms. At the time, Amelia had instantly regretted it, despite how much she had enjoyed it, but she'd found herself unable to stay away from him. Their next kiss had been in Bam's pool after he'd thrown her in as revenge for leaving him and the others on an island over night. That was when he'd promised to prove his feelings for her. Amelia deepened the kiss and put her arms around Bam's neck.

As her mind flicked to the next kiss, in the bedroom after he'd hidden her keys to stop her from leaving, Amelia realised she was missing out all the not so good moments in between. For every special moment they had spent together over the course of their relationship, there was at least ten times that Bam had made her angry or reduced her to tears. He ignored her. He abandoned her when she was pregnant. He effectively sacked her. He cheated on her. What kind of a relationship was that? And Bam wasn't the only one at fault. Hadn't she kissed Johnny when she was pregnant with Bam's son? Hadn't she kissed Johnny on their wedding day? Hadn't she run off to LA while she was still married to Bam, to spend New Year with Johnny?

Johnny. His face instantly appeared in Amelia's mind. She loved him, didn't she? Then what the hell was she doing now? Bam's hand reached for her chest, but Amelia suddenly pulled away. What was she thinking, kissing Bam? This was definitely not good. No. She should not be doing this. She practically leapt off the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Bam looked up at her, confused and flustered.

"This is wrong", Amelia groaned, throwing her hands to her face. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Are you telling me that didn't feel right?" Bam looked questioningly at her with his bright blue eyes, before standing up and walking over to her.

Amelia had to turn away. She couldn't bring herself to answer him and she was scared of what might happen if she looked into those blue eyes again.

"Amelia!" Bam shouted this time and pulled her shoulders around so that she had no choice but to face him. "Tell me that it felt wrong to you and I'll leave. I'll leave right now and never bother you again."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"I can't Bam", Amelia sighed after a few moments. "I can't lie to you."

"So it felt right. What's the problem?" He didn't seem to understand.

"That is the problem Bam. Every inch of my body hates your guts right now. You've hurt me beyond repair but I just kissed you and..."

"And?" Bam prompted her.

"And I felt something", she admitted. "I felt something and I hate myself for it."

Bam tried to hide the look of happiness from his face. Before he could begin to respond she interrupted him.

"I can't do this Bam. Not right now. I need to leave."

"But Amelia..."

"Please Bam, just let me go."

If he had never let her go in the first place, they would not be standing here right now, debating whether or not it was right or wrong for his wife to kiss him. Bam thought it best not to mention this to Amelia though, so he kept his mouth shut.

Amelia wished he'd say something, even if it was to try to change her mind. Anything was preferable to the awkward silence. "I need to go", she told him firmly this time. "I really can't be here right now."

Before Bam could argue, Amelia dived into the bedroom, closing the door behind her, leaving Bam looking confused and frustrated.

Shit, she thought, collapsing head first onto the bed. She needed to get out of here. What the hell had she been thinking? She couldn't deny that she had felt something when they kissed. But after all, it was perfectly natural for her to still have feelings for her husband, wasn't it? Not that it mattered what she felt for Bam anymore, she'd made her decision. She and Bam were over. For good.

Was this just a way of subconsciously getting back at Johnny for lying to her, she wondered. Perhaps? But if so it was still a shitty thing to do. She'd just sunk lower than she thought she was ever capable of. Maybe she and Bam deserved each other if she was willing to kiss Bam as revenge. At least Johnny had never cheated on her.

Amelia didn't even try to contain her tears as she scooped Brandon out of bed and made her way back into the main room to collect her things.

Bam stood up. "Amelia..." he began, but she cut him off.

"Don't Bam. This was a huge mistake. I need to go... I'm sorry. This is all my fault." She stuttered, picking up her hand bag and heading for the door.

"Where are you going? It's past midnight." He sounded worried.

"I'll get a cab", she waved him off and disappeared before he could follow.

Bam watched her walk away and his heart sank. He'd allowed her to walk away once again. What were the chances that he would ever get her back now?

Amelia hurried out of the hotel as quickly as her feet would carry her. Her only option was to take a taxi home and pick her car up in the morning. She could only hope that her apartment was empty by now. After all, she doubted that her friends would be looking for her this late. With any luck, Rose had passed on the message that she was staying with a friend and that she was fine. Ironically, this couldn't be further from the truth at that particular moment in time.

Amelia jumped into the first taxi she spotted outside the hotel and buckled Brandon in as the vehicle sped off. As they made their way through the illuminated streets of LA, she tried to catch her breath and calm down. There was no point in worrying about the situation now. She would deal with the fall out in the morning when she'd had some much needed sleep. It was only a short drive to her apartment so she decided to rest her eyes for a few minutes, trying to rid the image of Bam's face from her mind.

Her eyes were still closed as a huge lorry came hurtling towards the taxi.


	44. What Have We Done?

Bam could hear sirens and the scent of burning rubber filled the air. A sharp stabbing pain in his left arm helped bring him to his senses. His eyes flickered open and through the darkness he could just about make out the sidewalk he was lying on. Ambulance and cop car sirens were flashing continuously in the surrounding area. As he tried to sit up he realised a paramedic was standing over him.

"Sir? Can you hear me sir? You've been in an accident."

Bam gave up trying to sit up. His head felt too heavy and a dull pounding reminded him how much he'd had to drink.

"What's going on?" he croaked, blinking to take in his surroundings. A few metres away he saw two upturned cars and a smashed up lorry. His stomach churned and he thought he was going to be sick. He knew he hadn't been driving.

"You've been in an accident. We need to take you to the hospital", the paramedic told him calmly.

Bam looked up at the woman talking to him. An accident? The last thing he could remember was leaving the hotel and driving after Amelia in a taxi. Oh God, it all started to come back to him.

"Amelia! Where's my wife?"

This time Bam managed to sit up, despite the pain is body was in. It was nothing compared to the pain he felt, not knowing where Amelia was.

"There were no other passengers in your taxi sir, just you and the driver..."

"No! The taxi in front of us. My wife and son were in it, where are they? Are they ok?"

"The passengers in the other vehicle have been taken to the hospital already sir."

"I need to see them", Bam demanded, staggering to his feet, despite the pleas of the paramedic to stay still.

"I understand", she told him gently. "Let's get you in the ambulance and I'll help you find them, Mr..."

"Bam, just call me Bam", he replied quickly, already starting to walk towards the ambulance.

The paramedic hurried after him, helping into the ambulance and trying to make him comfortable.

"What happened?" he asked the woman, whose name badge read 'Melissa', as he sat down and rubbed his head. The pain was getting worse with the stress of the situation.

"The witnesses we spoke to said that the vehicle in front of yours was hit by an oncoming lorry", Melissa grimaced. "The driver seemed to have lost control and he swerved into your wife's taxi. Your driver managed to brake just in time to avoid the lorry, but the car still tipped over. You are a very lucky man."

Lucky? Bam scoffed to himself. He was anything but lucky.

"Oh God, what have I done!?" he exclaimed, tears streaking down his cheeks.

"It's not your fault", Melissa touched his shoulder.

"It is. It's all my fault. If it wasn't for me they would never have been in that taxi", he sobbed, throwing his head in his hands and fighting to ignore the pain in his arm. Despite everything that had happened between Amelia and him, he still loved her irrevocably. If anything should happen to her or their son, he didn't know how he'd be able to live with himself.

The ride to the hospital was the longest fifteen minutes of Bam's life. Melissa confirmed his suspicion that he'd broken his arm and was probably suffering from a minor concussion. She'd expertly patched up a nasty cut across his forehead by the time they arrived at the hospital. As soon as they arrived at the accident and emergency department, Bam jumped out of the ambulance, ignoring his faint dizziness and ran into the reception desk before Melissa could catch up with him.

"My wife, Amelia Margera...Jones... she was just brought in..." he panted at the receptionist, who was staring in horror at his bloodstained t-shirt.

"Sir..." she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Melissa had intercepted Bam and was steering him in the direction of a cubicle.

"Bam, you need to see a doctor", she told him firmly, ignoring his protests. "I'll go and find out about your family while you get checked over."

A doctor appeared almost immediately and insisted on stitching his head wound and giving him a CT scan before anything else. Bam couldn't care less about his own condition, he was only concerned with finding out about Amelia and Brandon and he was sure to tell this to any medical professional who would listen to him. Melissa and the doctor however, were adamant that he was going nowhere.

"Bam please let the doctor treat you. I'll be right back", Melissa promised and with that she had disappeared.

The doctor had just started to stitch his forehead when Melissa reappeared from behind the curtains. Bam jumped at the sound of his name, causing the doctor to lose concentration and accidently jab his own finger with the needle. Bam ignored his yelp and looked at Melissa anxiously.

"Well?"

"I've spoken to someone. Your son is fine, the seatbelt saved his life", she told him and Bam breathed a huge sigh of relief. "He's suffering from a bit of shock so they've sedated him until someone can be with him."

Bam nodded his understanding. "Thank God. And Amelia?"

"I'm afraid it's not good news." Melissa broke eye contact with Bam and the colour drained from his face. "Your wife's in a bad way. She's been taken straight into surgery. She suffered a really bad head injury and they need to remove a blood clot from her brain."

"I need to see her", Bam demanded. He could not process what this woman was telling him. All he knew was that he had to see Amelia and make everything right between them.

"Bam. You can't. She's in surgery."

"Is she going to be ok?" he sobbed, as the reality of the situation dawned on him.

"I'm really sorry Bam, I don't know..."

It had been a painful half an hour, but between the two of them, Melissa and the doctor had managed to finish stitching up Bam's head and had forced him through the CT scan. There was nothing anyone could do until Amelia was out of surgery and Brandon was going to be fine, so it stood to reason that Bam should get himself patched up. He was no good to anyone in his current state.

Melissa was supposed to have finished her shift almost an hour ago, but she had insisted on staying with Bam and making sure he was ok. In that time, Bam had literally told her everything about the past three years of his life. The poor woman.

"Is there anyone you want me to call?" asked Melissa, as Bam was having his arm put into a cast.

Bam's mind went blank. He couldn't think of anything but Amelia lying there, fighting for her life.

"Um..." he hesitated. Who was he supposed to call? Everyone in LA hated him. Scratch that, everyone in the world hated him. "I don't know", he shrugged.

"Come on Bam, what about your parents? Amelia's parents..."

"Yeah, can you ring them?" he mumbled. It was a start, and right now, April was really the only person he wanted to see.

"I'll get right onto it", she smiled, reassuringly. "Then we'll go and see your son."

Bam attempted to smile back, but it was too painful. "Thanks. You don't have to stay for me, I'm sure I can take care of myself."

Melissa laughed. "Somehow I doubt that. I've read your records Margera."

Bam offered an apologetic smile as she walked off. He wasn't used to kindness like this. He'd successfully alienated everyone else in his life, so it was unusual to be given the time of day, let alone having genuinely friendly company. He'd definitely fucked things up this time, that was for sure. It didn't matter that he wasn't the one driving them lorry. It was his actions that had sent Amelia running and he would never be able to forgive himself. What would everyone say?

Melissa returned momentarily, waking Bam from his thoughts. "Your parents are on the next flight to LA", she smiled. "I assured them that you're ok, but your mother insisted on coming to see you straight away. I couldn't get hold of Mr and Mrs Jones though, probably because of the time difference. I've asked Marie on reception to keep trying."

Bam rubbed his head with his good arm. "Her sister lives here", he sighed. Rose was definitely one of the last people he wanted to see right now, but he knew that when Amelia woke up she would need her family there.

"I'll try her", Melissa nodded. "Anyone else?"

Bam hesitated for a moment, wrestling with his conscience. No matter what negative feelings he might have towards the man, he could hardly keep something like this from him. It wouldn't be fair on anyone.

"Yeah". He pulled out the cell phone from his pocket, surprised to see that it was still in one piece. "PJ Clapp. He should be here."

Brandon was on the children's ward, which while understandable, was somewhat inconvenient, because Bam wanted to be there for Amelia too, but the surgery theatres were two floors away. Brandon was now wide awake and seemed perfectly fine, but Bam was struggling to connect with him, he was too worried about Amelia and the little boy was continuously asking for his mother. Bam didn't know what to say; he wasn't a good parent at all.

The only thing he could do was sit with Brandon and wait for some news on Amelia. Surely they must know something by now? She'd been in there for nearly two hours. What was taking them so long? It couldn't be good news, could it? Bam hated hospitals, which was hardly surprising given the amount of times he ended up in them and despite the amount of damage he'd done to his own body over the years, he still had no knowledge of anything medically related. He was a fish out of water.

Bam had managed to persuade Melissa to go home, he didn't deserve her kindness, but now he felt incredibly alone. April and Phil wouldn't be here for another eight hours or so and he could do without seeing Rose. She would be quick to place the blame on Bam, which was only what he deserved, but he didn't want to hear it from anyone else right now.

Bam waited until Brandon had drifted back to sleep before he got up and made his way out of the hospital. He was restless and craving a cigarette so badly. The doctor had advised him to take it easy and not to walk around for long periods of time but he was sick of sitting around anxiously. He needed to do something to try and take his mind off the situation; as if that would happen.

Bam had just reached the hospital exit when a figure hurtled into him through the automatic doors, barging into his broken arm and nearly sending him flying.

"Hey, watch it asshole!" Bam yelled, rubbing his arm in agony.

"Bam!?" A familiar voice called out from behind him.

Bam turned around to face the man who had just run into him and he jumped in surprise. "Knoxville!"

He'd known Johnny would be on his way, but he'd been quicker than he could have expected. Johnny looked almost as worse for wear as Bam. His eyes were bloodshot, his chin was covered in stubble and he stank of alcohol. He took one look at Bam's arm and his face dropped. "Shit dude, I'm sorry! What happened to you?"

Bam shrugged it off, preparing himself for the shit storm that was about to follow.

"What's going on Bam?" Johnny frowned. "I got a call saying there'd been an accident and that I should come here straight away..."

"You better have one of these", Bam said, offering Johnny a cigarette from his packet.

"Bam! What the hell has happened? Where's Amelia? Was she with you?" Johnny demanded, but he followed Bam back outside nonetheless.

After lighting their cigarettes away from the hospital entrance, Bam proceeded to tell Johnny what had happened, providing minimal detail on the lead up to Amelia getting into the taxi. Luckily that was the last thing on Johnny's mind, but Bam wasn't sure why he'd been so keen to spare the man's feelings. He could have easily told him about the kiss if he'd wanted to.

"I need to see her!" Johnny exclaimed, stubbing out his cigarette quickly.

Bam grabbed him by the arm. "She's still in surgery. They don't know when she'll be out."

"How bad is it?" Johnny stared at Bam with tears in his eyes.

"It's bad PJ." Bam watched awkwardly as Johnny sank to the ground with his head in his hands.

"What have I done?" Johnny cried.

"What have we done", Bam corrected him.


	45. Hospital Tensions

It's unsettling how your entire world can crumble down around you in less than twenty four hours thought Johnny, as he paced up and down the corridor of the operating theatre ward. This time yesterday, he and Amelia had been lying in bed together, dreaming of the future. Now, she was lying on a table in the room before him, fighting for her life, all because of Johnny's stupidity.

Why had he lied to her? He'd known from the start that it was a stupid thing to do, but how could he have foreseen what would happen? There were so many questions on his mind that needed answering, like why she had been with Bam before the accident, why she had refused to answer his calls...but all of this was irrelevant until Johnny knew that she was going to make it. He didn't care about anything that had happened, as long as his beautiful girl was going to be ok.

Bam was sitting on a chair at the other end of the corridor with his head in his hands, looking pretty beat up. He'd refused the standard hospital gown they'd forced on him for his CT scan, and was now back in his bloody clothes from the accident. From what Johnny had managed to gather, Bam had had a very lucky escape. It was clear that he was in a great amount of physical pain, but he was refusing to take any painkillers because he wanted to stay awake to hear any news about Amelia. Johnny almost felt sorry for him. It didn't matter what had happened between Amelia and Bam, Johnny could understand that Bam still cared for his wife and waiting around was torture for the both of them.

Like Johnny, Bam had refused to sit in the family waiting room and who could blame him? It was hell being in there, surrounded by other families who were anxious to hear the news about their loved ones. Johnny didn't care about any of them. The only person that mattered to him was Amelia. As soon as they'd finished their cigarettes the two men had raced back to find where she was being treated and they refused to leave until she came out.

Every time a doctor or nurse appeared, Johnny and Bam would jump up and demand to know what was going on, but no one was saying anything, which did little to fill their confidence. The men had called an unofficial and silent truce over the past hour as they fetched one another coffee and tried to come to terms with what was happening. After all, it was effectively the two of them who had got Amelia into this situation. The last thing they could do was come to blows now, not when she needed them the most. When a life is on the line, everything else goes out of the window, especially grudges.

At that very moment a doctor dressed in medical scrubs appeared, disturbing Johnny from his thoughts.

"Mr Margera?" he glanced at both Johnny and Bam, unsure of who exactly he was addressing.

Bam stood up and gingerly made his way over; trying not to show how much his arm was hurting. "Is she ok?" he demanded.

"I'm Doctor Reese, your wife's surgeon. We've finished operating now. Would you follow me to my office where we can discuss your wife's condition?"

Bam nodded and started to follow the doctor along the corridor. Johnny quickly tagged along, trying not to feel like a spare part as Doctor Reese led them through a set of double doors and then left through another door into his office.

"Gentlemen", Doctor Reese gestured for the two men to take a seat at the other side of his large mahogany desk. "I understand this is a very upsetting time for you and I want you to rest assured that I am doing everything in my power to help your...erm... Ms Jones."

"Is she going to be ok?" Johnny asked this time, wishing the man would stop beating around the bush. His heart was pounding violently against his ribcage and he felt queasy with nerves.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't mean to be rude but I don't know your name."

That had to be a first, Johnny thought, trying not to roll his eyes. "I'm Johnny, Amelia's..." he paused. What was he exactly? Had she split up with him? Did she ever want to see him again?

"He's Amelia's boyfriend", Bam interrupted offhandedly and Johnny shot him a look of surprise. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Certainly. Ms Jones suffered an extensive head injury during the collision, which caused an acute subdural haematoma."

From the blank look on both men's faces, Doctor Reese decided to carry on. "When Ms Jones came in, she was unconscious. As she'd been in a motor vehicle accident, the first thing we did was to take a CT scan of her head. Gentlemen, the collision involved a serious impact to Ms Jones' skull, resulting in the rupture of a blood vessel in her brain."

Both Johnny and Bam took a quick intake of breath. It sounded bad already.

"The blood had collected between her skull and the surface of the brain, causing swelling, which was putting a huge amount of pressure onto to her brain."

"What does that mean?" Johnny asked worriedly. "It sounds pretty bad."

"I'm afraid it is a very serious condition", Doctor Reese frowned. "Due to the amount of bleeding, we had no choice but to operate straight away. We've managed to remove the blood clot successfully and we hope that the swelling will start to go down now..."

"But?" Prompted Bam. "There's always a 'but'."

"After any kind of trauma to the brain there is a risk of more permanent damage, for example, a loss of certain functions, problems with speech, memory, movement... we won't know the full extent of the damage until Ms Jones wakes up."

"When will that be?" Johnny asked tentatively. It was difficult to gauge the true severity of Amelia's condition when the doctor was talking in such a goddamn calm manner. Johnny wanted to shake the man.

"Considering the fact that she's just undergone a very long, complicated procedure, not to mention her other injuries, we've decided to keep her under anaesthetic for the next twenty four hours or so. After that, we'll have to wait and see."

"What do you mean, wait and see?" Johnny frowned.

"We can't guarantee that Ms Jones will come round straight away sir. It's a strong possibility that she might have entered a coma."

Johnny felt like he had entered some kind of coma as he sat by the side of Amelia's hospital bed, watching the machines and wires pumping life into her battered body. The constant humming and beeping they produced was somewhat comforting and it was reminding him of the need to breathe.

As well as the head wound, Amelia also had a broken collarbone, two cracked ribs and a nasty cut to her head. At this rate she was giving the Jackasses a run for their money in the injury stakes. While Johnny and many of the others had experienced these sorts of bodily harm at one time or another, the brain damage was an entirely different matter. There was nothing funny about a subdural haematoma, or whatever the doctor had called it. The doctors had done a pretty good job of patching her up. If it wasn't for the huge bandage around her head, she would have looked peaceful...as if she was sleeping.

Bam kept watch on the other side of Amelia's bed, but now that he could be sure she wasn't going anywhere, he would occasionally go to check on Brandon. The two men had not been able to bring themselves to say anything to each other since they had sat in Doctor Reese's office. After all, what could they say to make the situation any better? Johnny glanced across the bed at Bam, who was as white as a sheet. He'd seen that look enough times to know that the man was about to pass out.

"Bam", Johnny said softly, taking him by surprise.

Bam looked up wearily. "Huh?" he croaked.

"You should go and lie down, you don't look too good", Johnny told him softly.

"I'm not going anywhere", Bam shot back tensely.

"You're no good to Amelia in this state..."

"What makes you think you're any good to her either? From what I heard earlier, you were the last person she wanted to see", Bam spat angrily.

This touched a nerve with Johnny, predominantly because Bam was right, but he wasn't going to admit to it. After all, since when were Amelia and Bam on speaking terms? Johnny remembered the fact that they'd been together that evening and he realised he needed to know what had happened.

"I wasn't aware that you were at the top of her list either Bam."

"There's a lot you're not aware of", Bam retorted, shooting daggers at his rival.

"Well why don't you go ahead and enlighten me." Johnny folded his arms.

Before Bam could start, a nurse had bustled into the room to change Amelia's bandages and drip. The look she gave the two men told them they'd better get out of there sharpish, or else.

Bam led the way out. He had barely made it two metres from Amelia's room when Johnny grabbed him by the shoulder of his good arm.

"Well? What happened between you and Amelia? What did you say to her to make her get into the taxi?" Johnny demanded.

Bam jerked his arm away from Johnny. "Let's not forget that the whole reason she came to me was because of what you did."

"Just get to the point Bam."

"I don't know what you're expecting me to tell you Knoxville. I bumped into her in the parking lot of a store. She was upset, naturally. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it, and she agreed, so we went back to my hotel. I said she could stay there if she wanted because I was going out, but she asked me to stay with her. We talked about stuff. She got upset and left... the end."

Johnny raised his eyebrow and he listened to Bam. "What did you talk about that got her so upset?"

Bam bit his lip, wondering whether or not to tell him the truth. It would be so easy to keep his mouth shut and play the good guy for once, but the fact that Knoxville was suggesting this was all Bam's fault really aggravated him. Knoxville was hardly guilt-free and he deserved to share part of the blame.

"Are you sure you want to know? You might not like what you hear."

Johnny frowned and squared up to Bam. "Tell me dammit!"

Bam paused for a moment, thinking it over. The truth wasn't going to help the situation but it might make him feel a bit better getting one over Knoxville for a change.

"I told her I still love her."

Johnny looked at Bam, blankly. "You do?" He wasn't quite sure what he had expected to hear. Not this, that was for sure.

Bam nodded slightly, watching Johnny's face for a reaction.

Johnny folded his arms in disbelief. "You've got a funny way of showing it."

"Yeah well, we all make mistakes", Bam shrugged. Some more than others, he thought to himself.

Johnny scoffed. "So that's what sent her running was it?" He tried to picture the look on Amelia's face when Bam announced this revelation to her, but he couldn't. All Johnny could see was the image of Amelia lying so broken and helpless in the next room.

"Not exactly", Bam smirked, knowing that he was reeling Johnny in with every word.

"What do you mean?" Johnny's body tensed up. Instinctively he clenched his fists and took a step closer to Bam.

This did not go unnoticed by Bam. He hoped that Johnny would hit him. He needed Johnny to hit him. He deserved it and he was sure it would make them both feel much better. Hell, he might even throw a punch back at Johnny if he had half the chance.

"She told me she's still in love with me." Bam chose his words carefully for maximum effect. His face was deadpan.

Johnny's own face contorted into a picture of anger. "Why should I believe you?"

"I'm not saying you should believe me. I'm just telling you what happened", Bam shrugged casually again, knowing how much his attitude was getting to Johnny.

"She was pretty upset about it, but I think she'd just had enough of all the lies." Bam placed emphasis on the last word. He was a puppeteer, pulling Johnny's strings.

Johnny didn't know what to think or say. How could he believe that Amelia was still in love with this man who had caused her so much pain? It was absurd, but why would Bam lie about it now? Perhaps Amelia had said it through her anger towards Johnny? Perhaps it was simply a way of her getting back at Johnny? It was possible, but Amelia was not that kind of person. Was she?

"The truth's always a little hard to swallow, right?" Bam pressed his lips together in a satisfied sort of way. "I was slightly sceptical myself", he continued. "But then she kissed me..."

Before Bam could finish his sentence, Johnny had thrown a fist straight into Bam's face. He'd heard enough. If Bam expected him to stand there and listen to his bullshit he had another thing coming, concussion or no concussion.

Bam's nose began to trickle with blood as Johnny's fist dropped back to his side. Just another injury to add to the collection, he thought, carelessly wiping the blood onto his arm. He probably looked like the victim of a horror film in his bloody clothes.

"I guess I deserved that", Bam smiled through the blood.

Johnny was just about to agree, when Bam released his good arm and sent his own fist hurtling towards Johnny. He managed to hit him square in the eye. Not bad for a man with a broken arm and concussion.

One thing led to another and in a matter of seconds the two men were scrapping like wild animals in the middle of the hospital wards. They were so focused on hurting one another than they didn't notice the nurses' shrieks of alarm, or the receptionist calling for security. They didn't even realise that a familiar face had appeared with a look of disgust plastered across their face. It wasn't until the figure grabbed Johnny and pushed him against the wall that the two men came to their sense and found themselves face to face with a very angry looking Ryan.

"What the fuck is going on!?"


	46. Ryan to the Rescue

Once he was sure the two men were going to stop tearing one another to pieces, Ryan let go of Johnny and stepped in between them, just as two burly looking security guards appeared.

"It's ok, they were just leaving", Ryan nodded to the security guards before ushering Bam and Johnny out of the ward as quickly as possible.

"What in God's name are you two idiots doing?" Ryan demanded as the three of them made their way into an empty corridor. "Are you trying to get yourselves arrested?"

Johnny and Bam shrugged like two chastised children. They were both sporting bloody noses, black eyes and bleeding lips. Ryan sighed in disbelief at the sense of déjà vu he was experiencing. The look on their faces told Ryan they hadn't been expecting him.

"Rose rang me from West Chester to say that Amelia was in a car accident. She's on the next flight out with Ape and Phil." Ryan quickly explained. "Is someone going to tell me what happened?"

Bam proceeded to fill Ryan in to the best of his ability, carefully eliminating the aspects of the story that had just got Johnny so worked up. Johnny listened silently. It was taking all of his strength not to interrupt Bam but that wasn't going to do anyone any good.

Ryan had turned pale by the time Bam had finished recounting what Doctor Reese had said about Amelia's condition. Ryan knew better than anyone the severity of a head injury. He himself had suffered a head injury as a result of a stunt in the past. It had also led to a blood clot, and he had been incredibly lucky that it had been spotted in time. He'd since been given the all clear, but hearing this news about Amelia affected him deeply.

"And you two dicks were rolling about like little boys while Amelia's in there, unconscious?" Ryan exhaled in disbelief, looking from Johnny to Bam.

When he put it like that, Johnny realised how stupid they had been. He had been a fool to let Bam wind him up in such a manner. It was vital that he got his head together if he was going to be any good to Amelia.

"You're right Ryan", he nodded. "I need some air", and with that Johnny headed off in the direction of the exit.

Once he was out of ear shot, Ryan turned to Bam. "What happened to you? You look like shit."

Bam realised that in the heat of the moment he'd forgotten to mention that he too had been involved in the accident. Not that it was of much importance. "It's nothing. I'm fine", he insisted, after explaining what had happened.

Ryan looked his old friend up and down. He couldn't have looked much further than fine. In fact, he looked like he was going to be sick and the blood on his shirt was making Ryan feel a similar way.

"Do me favour Bam and drop the bullshit", Ryan smiled gently, taking Bam by the arm and leading him back to the ward with the intention of getting him some kind of treatment. As much as he might not like the man, Bam was one of his oldest friends and he could not stand by and watch him in pain.

Bam did not have the energy to argue with Ryan and he followed him without hesitation. If truth be told, the sight of his friend was making him feel better already and he became aware of how much he'd missed having Ryan around.

Within a matter of minutes and after much persuasion on both Bam and Ryan's parts, a scolding nurse had set him up in a bed not far from Amelia's private room. He was dosed up on strong pain killers and his nose and lip had been cleaned up.

"I'm glad you're here Dunn", Bam mumbled as the pain killers started to kick in.

"Yeah well, I'm not here for you", Ryan retorted, but his eyes softened and his lips twitched into a smile. "But I'm glad to see you're still in one piece", he added.

Bam grinned lazily. Tiredness was beginning to take over his body. "I don't deserve to be."

"You're talking bullshit again Bam", Ryan admonished.

Bam chose to ignore him as he fought to keep his eyes open. "I'm sorry, you know", he told Ryan as sincerely as he could muster. With that he gave in and let sleep engulf him.

When Bam awoke he found himself surrounded. Sitting around his bedside were April, Phil, Jess, Vito, Ryan and Brandon, who was sitting on Phil's knee. Bam blinked several times, taking in the sight of his family gathered around him.

"How long was I out for?" he frowned at Ryan, wondering how they'd gotten here so quick.

"About twelve hours dude", Ryan laughed.

"Oh Bam, are you ok?" April jumped up and immediately started to fuss over him.

Instinctively Bam pushed her away and sat up. "How's Amelia?" he demanded.

"There's been no change", Ryan assured him.

Bam relaxed slightly and as he leant back in bed he noticed the look of distress on his family's face. Amelia was still part of this family, despite the way he had treated her.

"What are you guys doing here?" he questioned, looking at Vito and Jess. He wasn't surprised to see Ape and Phil, but he had not expected such a sizeable welcoming party.

Vito jabbered something incomprehensible while Jess shrugged and said "we felt like a vacation!"

"Don't be silly Bam, we're here to see you. I was so worried!" April exclaimed, resuming her fussing. Bam did not have the energy to stop her this time.

"You're still here", he glanced at Ryan questioningly.

"Rose is with Amelia", Ryan said casually, by way of explanation. "I thought you might need back up", he added shooting a deliberate glance at Vito, who was eating a bunch of grapes.

Bam couldn't help but laugh. "Appreciate it dude." It was almost as if nothing had changed between them. Almost, but not quite.

"How's your head?" Phil asked, sensing the tension in the room and attempting to change the subject.

Bam rubbed his head with his good arm. "Much better actually, thanks." It still felt a little bruised, but the majority of the pain had gone. He wished he could say the same for his heart.

"Perhaps it knocked some sense into you", Jess teased.

Bam stuck his tongue out at his older brother.

"Oh we can only hope", April joined in, smiling at her sons. "I bet you're hungry aren't you?"

"I am!" Vito interrupted before Bam could even nod.

Once April was satisfied that her son was suitably fed, watered and medicated, she, Phil, Jess and Vito left Bam in order to give him some space. She sensed that he and Ryan had some talking to do and she was anxious to see her daughter in law.

Bam audibly breathed a sigh of relief once his family had left. He was pleased to see them but he couldn't stand being fretted over by April.

Brandon was sitting on the bed beside him playing with a teddy bear that Ryan had bought him from the gift shop.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you two together like this", Ryan observed, smiling at father and son playing together.

Bam grimaced slightly as he looked at Brandon. "I know I've got a lot of making up to do."

"You can say that again", Ryan agreed. "But better late than never."

Bam nodded slightly. "I still don't understand why you're sticking around", Bam told him. "Why don't you go and see Amelia?"

"Look Bam, I might not particularly like you lately, but you're my friend and I'm worried about you."

Bam looked down, ashamedly. It was far more than he deserved. "You don't need to worry about me anymore; I'm in one piece aren't I?"

Ryan sighed loudly. "Don't push me away Bam, I swear to God this is your last chance. I'm willing to put everything behind us now and forget what an asshole you've been, but you need to meet me halfway", Ryan looked at him seriously.

"Why would you do that? I treated you like shit", Bam's brow knitted together in confusion.

"Because", Ryan began. "I have a feeling that everything's going to change from now on and I think you could use a friend."

"What do you mean?" Bam frowned. "Are you talking about Amelia?"

"When she wakes up and recovers, she's going to need a lot of help from the people around her. No matter what's happened in the past, she's going to need you Bam. You can't go back to acting like a dick. You need to grow up and put your family first."

Bam noticed the way Ryan used the term 'when' rather than 'if' and he was grateful for this. "You're right Dunn", he sighed.

After a few moments of silence, Bam stood up. "I need a smoke", he said to Ryan, before realising he was still in the hospital gown the nurse had forced on him after his fight with Johnny.

"I brought you some clothes", Ryan laughed at the expression of horror on Bam's face. "They're mine but they should fit you." He threw a rucksack at Bam.

Bam smiled at Ryan gratefully and pulled on the clothes as best as he could with one arm.

"Do I have to do everything?" Ryan rolled his eyes jokingly as he watched Bam fight with the t-shirt. He walked over and helped Bam get his broken arm through the sleeve as gently as possible.

"Have you seen Knoxville? Bam asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"He's in Amelia's room. I don't think he's been home yet." Ryan shrugged, picking Brandon up before they left. "What was going on with you two last night? I thought you'd both have more sense than that."

They came to a stop outside Amelia's room before Bam could reply. The blinds were drawn and the door was shut. Ryan knocked on the door gently and Rose appeared. Bam was surprised to see her looking so worse for wear. He'd never seen her looking anything other than pristine before.

"I think your nephew would like some cuddles, if you have any to spare", Ryan smiled gently at Rose, passing Brandon into her arms.

Rose returned the smile weakly. "Bam", she acknowledged with a sympathetic nod. "How are you feeling?"

Bam was taken aback by her friendly manner. "Better, thanks", he mumbled.

"I'm glad you're ok", she told him sincerely, holding Brandon tightly to her chest.

Bam was too surprised to reply. Why was everyone being so courteous to him?

"We're just going for a smoke", Ryan told her. "Do you want anything?"

Rose shook her head wearily. "I finally got hold of mum and dad. They're on their way but they probably won't arrive til tomorrow night."

"Ok", Ryan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go back to my hotel and have a shower, get changed. There are plenty of us here."

Rose nodded gratefully. "I'll wait til you get back. I've tried persuading him to go home but he won't leave", she sighed gesturing inside the room. Bam could only assume she was referring to Johnny.

"I'll talk to him", Ryan assured her.

"Why is everyone being so nice to me?" Bam voiced his thoughts to Ryan once they were outside.

"I know you've been a jerk Bam, but believe it or not, nobody actually wishes you were dead. I suppose the fact that you were pretty much unconscious when everyone arrived helped. They were all worried."

"Oh", said Bam, in a small voice. He felt somewhat humbled by the fact that so many people had been worried about him.

"Jeff and Steve dropped by this morning", Ryan informed him.

"This morning?" Bam asked, puzzled. "What time is it now?" He'd forgotten that he'd been out of it for so long.

"It's four in the afternoon", Ryan laughed, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offering one to Bam. "But let's not change the subject. I was asking you about Johnny."

Bam lit his cigarette and exhaled a large cloud of smoke before answering Ryan. "I provoked him", Bam shrugged.

"You're admitting it was your fault?" Ryan gave Bam a look of disbelief, prompting Bam to tell him the whole story.

While he hadn't exactly lie to Johnny about what had happened between him and Amelia, he had certainly bent the truth in order to get a reaction out of him. Ryan could make of that what he would, but Bam started to feel slightly remorseful. Johnny was having just as rough a time of it as he was.

"You don't have to say anything Dunn. I know I should apologise to him", Bam added before Ryan could give his input.

"I agree, but I wasn't going to say that. Does she really still have feelings for you?" Ryan looked at him incredulously.

"That's what she said", Bam repeated, wishing so much that she hadn't. Things would be a lot easier, that was for sure.


	47. Telling the Truth This Time

Once he'd finished his cigarette, Bam resolved to go and apologise to Johnny for bending the truth. It was a difficult time for everyone involved and antagonising Johnny was not going to make it any easier. His talk with Amelia and the following accident had awoken something deep down inside Bam. Ryan was right. It was time for him to grow up and face his responsibilities. Whatever happened from this moment on, Bam sensed that Amelia was going to need both him and Johnny. They would just have to try and get on, whether they liked it or not.

When Rose saw Bam at Amelia's door, she quickly took her leave, sensing that the two men had some talking to do. Ryan was waiting for her in the corridor, looking tired and anxious.

"Is that a good idea?" she asked, motioning to Bam's retreating figure.

Ryan scratched his beard nervously as he watched the door close behind Bam. "I hope so."

Rose shot him an unconvinced look. "If they start fighting again..." she began.

Ryan cut her off by taking her in his arms and kissing her head. "They won't", he assured her. "Now come on. Let's go to the hotel and take a shower. April's here, so you can relax."

On the other side of the door, Bam made his way to Rose's vacated seat by Amelia's bed. He saw the dishevelled form of his old friend sitting opposite, but Johnny didn't stir at his arrival. Bam sat down gently, trying to make as little noise as possible. The whirring and pumping of the machines created a weird kind of ambiance in the room. It was almost peaceful. They sat in silence for maybe fifteen minutes or so, both of them staring at Amelia's bed, lost for words.

"Did she really kiss you?" Johnny's strained voice called across the room after a while. "I need to know."

Bam looked up, surprised to hear his voice. He sighed to himself before answering. "I kissed her", he told Johnny, wondering what difference it made. "And she kissed me back. But I don't see how that matters now."

"I suppose it doesn't", Johnny shrugged slightly. "It's just difficult to make sense of anything at the moment."

"You're telling me", Bam agreed, playing awkwardly with the rings on his fingers. He really didn't want to repeat their last conversation.

"So you really still have feelings for her?" The pain in Johnny's voice was uncomfortably evident.

"I never stopped", Bam shrugged and looked at the floor. "I know you probably don't want to hear anything I have to say, let alone believe it...but it's the truth."

Johnny nodded. "I always suspected it. I mean, if you really didn't care for her you wouldn't have gone to such lengths..." he trailed off before the conversation became any more awkward.

Bam laughed bitterly. "To make her life hell?" He finished Johnny's sentence, "No, I guess I wouldn't have."

"Tell me what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Bam frowned.

"When you spoke to Amelia. What did she say? Please. I want to understand what was going through her head."

Bam could hardly see how this was going to do any good, but the tone of Johnny's voice made it impossible for him to refuse. "I don't know what you want me to say Knoxville."

"Did she say anything about me?" he asked.

Bam shook his head slightly, feeling bad for the guy. Amelia had barely mentioned his name.

"So what did you talk about?" Johnny sounded slightly put out.

"I told her why I'd been so horrible to her, but she didn't want to believe that I still love her. Understandable really", Bam scratched the back of his neck as he tried to recall what he and Amelia had spoken about leading up to her getting into the taxi.

"She said something about her life falling apart since she came to the US. I told her it was our fault, you know, being jackasses and everything. Then we reminisced about working on the show, I guess."

The expectant look on Johnny's face told Bam that he was waiting for more.

"She pretty much admitted that she regretted letting herself fall in love with me", Bam said nonchalantly, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.

Johnny's face was impassive once again.

"So I asked her when she stopped loving me and she said she wasn't sure that she ever stopped." This time he was really trying to keep to Amelia's words and not exaggerate.

"And then?"

"You know what happened next", Bam replied in frustration.

"You kissed her", Johnny repeated. The words were sour on his tongue.

Bam didn't bother to respond to this. "If it's any consolation, she said it was a huge mistake", Bam explained. "And then she got into that fucking taxi." He closed his eyes in anguish and let his head slip into his good hand.

The two men lapsed into silence as the implication of Amelia getting into the taxi hit home.

"I'm sorry for hitting you", Johnny apologised softly, breaking the tension.

"Don't be", Bam laughed slightly. "I was asking for it."

"You wanted me to hit you?" Johnny looked at Bam incredulously.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Why else do you think I did such a good job of winding you up?" he asked. "I deserved far worse than a broken arm from the crash", he waved his cast up and down as if to emphasise the point.

"And a busted lip and black eye makes you feel better does it?" Johnny asked sceptically, but he was unable to mask the amusement in his voice.

"Not really, but it helps", Bam grinned. "Especially seeing them on your pretty face."

Johnny started laughing. It was a sound that Bam had not heard in a very long time and it brought back many fond memories the two men had shared.

"So what happens now?" Bam wondered, once the laughter had subsided.

Johnny raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What I mean to say is I'll understand if you want me to leave. I just need you to know that I really do care about her", Bam attempted to explain himself as he stared sadly at Amelia.

"I believe you Bam", Johnny said gently. "There's no sense in the two of us fighting anymore, is there?"

Bam shook his head in agreement. He didn't want to fight Johnny anymore. He didn't want to fight anyone for that matter.

"I think she'd want you to be here", Johnny added. "And Brandon needs you. It's pretty safe to say we can write the past off for now."

Bam blinked in surprise. Johnny was being far more gracious than he could have expected. Could they really put the past behind them, for Amelia's sake? He hoped so.

"You're right", Bam told him. "I know it's too late, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry, for everything. I wish I'd had chance to say this to Amelia."

"You will", Johnny said determinedly, but his eyes belied the strength of his words.

Bam attempted to smile convincingly but he couldn't quite manage it. Smiling felt wrong when his wife was lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

Johnny had started digging around in his pockets. Bam watched curiously as he pulled out a set of keys.

"When you get discharged, you and Brandon can stay at the house, if you want? I figure it's more comfortable than a hotel." He stood up and made his way around the bed to hand Bam the keys.

Bam looked up in surprise as the taller man pushed the keys into his hand. He hadn't even started to think about what he was going to do, never mind where he was going to stay. As for Brandon, well, he couldn't see Rose or Amelia's parent's being too happy about him being in Bam's care.

"I don't know if that's a good idea Knoxville", Bam told him warily.

"Which part?" Johnny laughed. "I promise not to hit you again, and Brandon needs at least one parent around. This is your chance to prove yourself as a father. Amelia never had any intention of stopping you from seeing him."

Bam realised Johnny was really trying to help him and he truly appreciated it. At the same time however, it made him all the more aware of his past transgressions and how undeserving he was of anyone's kindness. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to make up for his past mistakes, or at least try to clean himself up a bit.

"Thanks Knoxville", Bam smiled weakly, putting his hand around the keys. "God knows I don't deserve it."

"It's nothing", Johnny shrugged, retreating back to his seat.

Within the next few hours Bam had been discharged and with no resistance from Rose, he had taken Brandon back to Johnny's house. Johnny wasn't sure what had come over him to make him so amiable towards Bam, although the look of pain on his face had made it obvious how much he cared about Amelia. Johnny supposed there was no point in pushing him away anymore and he'd been right about Brandon needing one parent around. It would be good for the both of them to have some time bonding. As for what Amelia would have wanted, well, he wasn't sure anymore.

One thing for sure was that his talk with Bam had done no good in terms of his mental state. Knowing that Bam had only slightly exaggerated the facts about his time with Amelia, did not make Johnny feel any better. The idea of her kissing Bam left a bad taste in Johnny's mouth, but he could not bring himself to be angry at Amelia. If Johnny hadn't lied to her in the first place she wouldn't have been anywhere near Bam or the taxi.

Johnny sighed heavily to himself. He didn't believe in God but over the past twelve hours he hadn't stopped praying that Amelia would be ok. He still hadn't left her room. Even though she was unconscious, it didn't seem right to leave her alone. Her condition was stable for the next few days, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Predominantly he was worried about what would happen when the doctors tried to bring her round. What if she didn't wake up?

Apparently he was not the only who wanted to keep watch over Amelia. Sometime before midnight, Ryan and Rose reappeared looking slightly better than they had several hours earlier. After somewhat of a disagreement, Ryan forcibly removed Johnny from the room, insisting that he needed to go home and get some rest, or else.

It was with a heavy heart that Johnny climbed into Jeff's waiting car outside of the hospital.

"Thanks for picking me up Jeff", Johnny mumbled awkwardly. He hated feeling like a burden on anyone.

Jeff waved him off. "Don't be silly PJ. It's no problem, now let's get you home." Jeff slapped Johnny on the back in a comforting gesture as he put the car into gear and pulled off.

As he rested his head on the passenger window of Jeff's car, Johnny realised how tired he was. It was an effort just to keep his eyes open. Unfortunately the thought of getting into his empty bed was not a welcoming one.

"Want me to come in?" Jeff asked, finally pulling up on Johnny's driveway. During the journey back, Johnny had filled Jeff in on what had happened between him and Bam at the hospital.

"No, you should get back to Laura", Johnny told him firmly. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Jeff nodded. "We're all thinking of you PJ, and Bam too. Tell him I said hi."

"Thanks Jeff", Johnny smiled weakly, embracing his friend in a rough hug before jumping out of the car. As he made his way to the front door he took a deep breath, ready to face his guests.

Inside, the house seemed deserted. That was, until Johnny found himself in the living room. Apparently Bam had fallen asleep in front of the TV, with Brandon beside him. A late night talk show was playing but Johnny didn't bother to turn it off. Instead, being careful not to wake Bam, Johnny scooped the sleeping toddler up from the sofa and into his arms, with the intention of putting him to bed.

As Johnny carried him upstairs, Brandon woke up and started wriggling. "Hey it's ok, little buddy. Its way past your bed time", Johnny whispered softly.

On realising who it was Brandon smiled lazily. "Johnny!" he observed.

Johnny couldn't help but smile back at the little boy. Children had a funny way of making you smile, whether you wanted to or not.

"Moma?" Brandon asked, as Johnny tucked him into bed. Since he and Amelia had started seeing one another, Johnny had made up a bed in one of the spare rooms for Brandon.

Brandon's question tugged at Johnny's heart. Of course he missed his mom. He hadn't seen her for nearly twenty four hours. What was he supposed to say to the kid? He wondered if Bam had managed any kind of explanation.

"Moma's not very well Brandon. Your daddy's gonna look after you until she's better. So you need to be extra good for him."

Brandon's face creased in distress. "Moma!" he demanded this time, tears filling his eyes.

"I know you miss your moma Brandon, so do I", Johnny murmured sadly, pulling the crying infant into his arms. "But she's gonna be ok." He wished he could believe his own words.

Johnny attempted to comfort Brandon by rocking him slightly in his arms and whispering happy things to him, such as promises of ice cream and trips to the park. Although he'd always been close to Amelia's son, he'd never had to calm or reassure him in such a way before. It had been a long time since he'd held Madison like this too. He was surprised he hadn't forgotten what to do, but it seemed the fatherly instinct never went away. At that moment Johnny realised that no matter what had happened between him and Amelia, she needed him to be strong for Brandon. He couldn't fall apart now.

After a while, Johnny was not sure how long he'd sat there for, Brandon had stopped crying and fallen asleep. Ever so carefully as not to wake him, Johnny put Brandon under the covers. Once he was sure the little boy was out for the count, Johnny tiptoed out of the room and returned downstairs.


	48. Staying Strong

Bam had just begun to stir when Johnny reappeared in the living room. When he realised that Johnny was back he sat up suddenly.

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to fall asleep", he groaned, running a hand through his unkempt hair. Glancing at the timer on the television box, Bam realised that he must have been asleep for several hours.

Johnny smiled slightly, taking a seat on the sofa opposite him. "You should have gone straight to bed", he said, kicking his feet up and leaning back against the arm.

"I didn't know what to do about Brandon or which room was spare", Bam told him guiltily. "Thanks for putting him to bed though."

"No problem. There's a guest room made up next door to his. It's yours for as long as you need it."

"Thanks", Bam repeated feeling a little awkward. He looked at Johnny who was rubbing his eyes. "Speaking of sleep, you look shattered."

"I am", Johnny admitted, trying to stifle a yawn. "But I don't know if I can sleep right now. My head's going round and round."

Bam nodded sympathetically. "Same here."

"Hey, you fancy a drink?" Johnny suggested. He wasn't looking to get drunk; he just needed something to calm his nerves. He could not take his mind off Amelia, but he knew that he was no good to her like this.

"For sure", Bam agreed, feeling pretty much the same. He watched Johnny get up and walk into the kitchen. The whole situation was a little surreal, he thought. He and Johnny had practically been sworn enemies only days ago. Now they were what? Living together? It was crazy.

Johnny reappeared moments later with two ice cold beers. The thought of a drink was most definitely welcoming to Bam. It felt like weeks had passed, not hours since he was drinking with Amelia in his hotel room. The memory was an uncomfortable one and he tried to shake it away.

"Brandon was upset when I put him to bed", Johnny said to Bam as he handed him a bottle. "He misses his mom."

Bam grimaced. "He was asking for her earlier but I didn't know what to tell him. I'm no good at being a parent." This had been bothering him since Amelia's accident. As soon as he was left alone with his son, he felt useless.

"You'll get used to it", Johnny assured him, sitting himself back down on the other sofa. "It'll become natural after a while."

"Do you really think I'm capable?" Bam frowned, peeling at the label of the bottle.

"Of course you are. You just need to work at it."

Bam took a swig of beer and nodded thoughtfully. Quite frankly he was amazed that he and Knoxville could be having such a friendly conversation. Johnny appeared to be thinking the same thing as a faint smile danced across his lips.

"Just like old times, eh?" Johnny voiced his thoughts; a hint of sadness tinged his words.

"If only", Bam sighed. How had they ended up like this? What he wouldn't give to rewind the past few years of his life.

"I suppose this is what happens when two friends fall in love with the same woman", Johnny continued. Their situation sounded like a romantic love triangle, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

"And then they fuck things up", Bam added quickly.

"I'll drink to that", Johnny raised his bottle cynically.

"To fucking things up", Bam repeated, raising his own bottle before taking a large gulp.

"I know this isn't the right situation to be patching things up", Johnny started. "But I've missed you dude."

Bam's eyes twinkled in surprise and affection. "I've missed you too bro", he laughed. "I'm not saying I like you though. After all, you did steal my wife..." Despite the implications, Bam's tone was jovial. Perhaps it was the beer.

"Steal is such a strong word", Johnny raised his eyebrows but he was smiling as he took a sip from his own bottle.

"Let me finish", Bam put a hand up to stop him. "I was going to say, at least she fell for a gentleman, but now I'm not so sure."

Johnny laughed at this. "I think the bang to your head changed you Bam. You're like a different person."

Bam silently agreed. His narrow escape and Amelia's misfortune had definitely put life into perspective for him. He didn't say this to Johnny though.

"No, seriously. I know I've lost her Knox. I could see it in her eyes when she left the hotel. I didn't realise at the time, but it makes sense now. She got into that taxi because she felt guilty for kissing me. That's crazy don't you think? She felt guilty for going behind your back with her own husband. She loves you dude."

"But she still loves you too", Johnny reminded him. "And the last time I spoke to her, she was pretty fucking mad at me."

"She'll forgive you. You were only trying to protect her."

"I hope so, because I don't think I can live without her."

Taking into account all that had happened recently, it was no surprise that the meeting with the studio executives regarding the possibility of a third movie had been swiftly postponed. Despite the fact that the entire cast and crew were only supposed to be in the area for a short amount of time, nobody was really in the mood to talk about filming, funding or anything like that. The lack of interest didn't bode well for keeping in Paramount's good books, but Jeff had been assured that the demand for a third movie meant that the studio was willing to wait until it was both practically and emotionally doable on the part of Dickhouse. They wanted their movie and by God they would have it.

In his role as director, executive producer and almighty Emperor, it had fallen on Jeff, as usual, to keep things afloat at the office. Not that this was an easy feat, even under normal circumstances. To add to the situation, he and Laura were still coming to terms with the fact that they were expecting their first child. Since hearing the news of her best friend's accident, Laura had become even more of a hormonal mess. When Jeff wasn't trying to maintain order at Dickhouse, he was comforting Laura and PJ.

Once the initial shock of Amelia's accident had subsided, everyone slowly drifted back into what they had been doing before, partly because they didn't know what else to do and partly because they knew Amelia would not want them making a fuss over her. Jeff couldn't help but be thankful for this; it made his job so much easier. He was finding it just as difficult to deal with the situation as everyone else, but it wasn't in his nature to let life get the better of him.

The offices were even busier than normal as of late. Dave, Ehren and Preston, who didn't live in LA, had decided to stick around a little longer until there was any news on their friend. They spent their time making 'get well soon' videos for her and otherwise making nuisances of themselves along with Chris, Steve and Jason. On the other hand, Johnny, Bam, Ryan and Rose had been dividing their time between the hospital and the office. Now that Amelia's parents had arrived and were staying in Amelia's apartment for the foreseeable future, there was only so much time that could be spent around her bedside. The nurses tended to get a little funny when more than four people were in the room.

The task now at hand was for everyone to keep as busy as possible until the doctors took Amelia out of her induced coma. This was no easy task and Jeff often found his personal office occupied by an anxious and shaking kneed Knoxville. He wished there was something he could say to help his friend or at least make him feel better.

The fact that Johnny and Bam were now on much better terms had not gone unnoticed by anyone in the office. That they were temporarily living together had come as almost as much of a shock as Amelia's accident. Jeff had been sceptical when Johnny had told him they'd called a truce, but once he'd seen it with his own eyes he was soon eating his words. If one good thing had come from the situation it was that they were friends again. Unfortunately there was no telling what would happen, if anything, when Amelia woke up.

"Earth to Tremaine!"

Jeff had been stealing a few moments of sleep in his office that lunchtime when he was rudely awoken by a familiar voice in the doorway. Less than impressed about being disturbed, Jeff grumbled obscenities to himself as he rolled himself off the sofa. He looked up to see Johnny standing over him.

"Oh it's you. Hey PJ. I thought you were Ehren."

"Charming", Johnny laughed, but Jeff could tell from the distant look in his eyes that his friend was preoccupied. "I just came to let you know that I'm done for the day. They're gonna wake Amelia up in a few hours."

Jeff jumped up from his seat. "Of course", he remembered, walking towards PJ. How could he have forgotten? "You'll ring me as soon as you know anything?" He looked at his friend seriously.

Johnny nodded.

"Ok then man. Oh wait!" Jeff hurried to his desk and fumbled in the top drawer for something.

Johnny raised an eyebrow quizzically as Jeff handed him a small gift bag.

"It's just a little something that Laura and I put together for Amelia", Jeff explained. "No big deal, we just wanted to let her know we were thinking of her."

Johnny smiled and gave Jeff a brief hug. "Cheers Jeff. I know she'll appreciate it."

"Don't forget to ring me as soon as!" Jeff reminded him, before patting him on the back in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.

"You'll be the second to know", Johnny nodded. "I'll speak to you later."

Jeff watched his friend retreat out of the office and he felt a lump form in his throat, accompanied by those unwelcome butterflies in his stomach. If Jeff was feeling this anxious, he couldn't imagine how Johnny must be feeling.

Johnny was in a daze as he made his way to the car. His mind was full of all the things he wanted to say to Amelia when she woke up; if she woke up. He needed to tell her how sorry he was; that he'd never meant to hurt her. He needed to make sure she knew exactly how much he loved her and how he would never let anything happen to her. All in all, he needed to make up for what he had done wrong and hope to god that she could find it in her heart to forgive him.

How he made it to the hospital in one piece was nothing short of a miracle. He couldn't even remember putting the car into gear. A few photographers who had somehow found out what had happened were camped out in front of the hospital doors, but Johnny managed to take them by surprise. By the time they had turned their cameras on he was halfway into the building.

When he arrived on Amelia's ward he was greeted by Ryan who appeared to be on coffee duty. He was precariously attempting to balance four cups of coffee in his hands; a disaster waiting to happen if ever there was one.

"Need a hand?" Johnny asked, reaching to take two of the cups from Ryan.

"Cheers dude", Ryan replied, relief in his voice. The two men made their way to the waiting room at the other end of the ward.

"So how are you holding up?" Ryan asked, pausing at the waiting room door.

"I don't know", Johnny admitted. "I guess I just want to get today out of the way you know."

Ryan nodded and pushed the door open with his shoulder. Johnny followed him into the room and was met by the sight of Amelia's parents, Bam, Ape and Phil. Amelia was going to have one hell of a welcoming party.

"Hi Johnny", Lisa acknowledged tearfully as Johnny passed Steve and Lisa their coffees.

He put a sympathetic hand on Lisa's arm. Amelia's parents still didn't know the full situation between their daughter and Johnny. As far as they were concerned, the two of them had just had an argument, nothing serious. Johnny could only imagine Lisa's wrath if she knew how he had betrayed Amelia.

Bam was sitting in the corner of the room beside Phil. He had been keeping a relatively low profile since the accident. This hadn't stopped Lisa giving him a piece of her mind, however. Given the fact that she'd not seen him since Amelia and Bam's wedding, she had plenty to say to him. Bam had filled Johnny in one evening over a takeaway and a few bottles of beer.

"Brandon and Rose are in Amelia's room", Ryan told Johnny as he took a seat next to Lisa on the sofa.

"Ok." Johnny glanced at his watch. "I'll just go and see her before..." he trailed off and turned back towards the door.

Rose was just leaving when Johnny arrived outside Amelia's room. She was holding Brandon's hand. Since the night after Amelia's accident when Johnny put him to bed, Brandon was beginning to get used to the idea that Amelia was going to be asleep for a while. He was being thoroughly doted on by both sets of grandparents and he and Bam were continuing to bond.

"Hi Johnny", Rose smiled gently. She let go of Brandon's hand and embraced Johnny tightly.

Johnny hugged her back, slightly surprised by the surge of emotion from Amelia's little sister. She was usually somewhat reserved, but he figured today was an emotional day for everyone. Johnny was just thankful that she had no antagonistic feelings towards him. He'd been touched to hear that she had actually tried to persuade Amelia to talk to him on the day of the accident.

"She's going to be ok, isn't she?" Rose looked at Johnny for confirmation as she let her arms drop to her side.

"Yes", Johnny managed to croak, wishing he could believe it.


	49. Hope

Johnny collapsed into the seat beside Amelia's bed and put his head in his hands. The frustration and tension was killing him. He didn't know how much longer he could take this, being apart from the woman he loved. He needed her back.

He took Jeff's gift bag from under his arm and peered inside, curious as to what it could possibly contain. Johnny smiled to himself when he saw the brightly coloured canvas. He pulled it out and instantly recognised Jeff's distinctive style of artwork. Jeff had painted an abstract picture of Amelia and Johnny. Amelia was pointing a heart shaped camera at the figure of Johnny, who appeared to have literally fallen head over heels into a heap on the floor, love hearts floating around his head. It was touching.

Johnny turned the canvas over and on the back Jeff had written a message.

'To Amelia, get well soon. I need my best girl back in the office! We all miss you. Lots of love, Jeff and Laura.'

Johnny made a mental note to thank Jeff for the thoughtful gift as he placed the canvas on Amelia's bedside.

"I don't know if you can hear me Amelia", he sighed. "I just... I don't know." Johnny scratched his head nervously. "Please be ok Amelia. I can't live without you. I know I've messed things up between us, but I promise I will make it up to you. I'll do anything."

He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but he tried desperately to keep them in. "I love you Amelia", he whispered, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

A knock on the door made Johnny jump. He rubbed his eyes quickly and sat back down before a nurse entered the room.

"Sorry honey, I didn't mean to scare you", she smiled sweetly.

"It's ok", Johnny told her. "I'm just a bit of a mess at the moment, sorry".

"It's perfectly understandable", the nurse replied as she checked Amelia's charts. "I can't imagine what you must be going through."

Johnny didn't know what to say, so he stared at the floor awkwardly.

"The doctor will be along in a few minutes", the nurse patted his shoulder as she walked past.

Johnny swallowed the painful lump in his throat. Doctor Reese had spoken to them a few days ago, telling them what to expect when they took Amelia out of her coma. It was highly unlikely that she would wake up straight away; in fact, it could be days, or even weeks until she came round fully. They would, however, be able to carry out tests to determine whether she had suffered any serious brain damage and indeed whether or not she was able to breathe for herself.

Johnny could not bear to think about the possibility of Amelia not making a full recovery. Whenever he heard the words 'brain' and 'damage' he found himself engulfed by a wave of nausea.

Before he could lose himself in his thoughts anymore, there was another knock on the door and Amelia's parents walked in, followed by Doctor Reese. It was time.

Bam couldn't stand all this waiting around either. A silent agreement had been made that Amelia's parents and Johnny would be in the room when the doctors took Amelia out of her coma. That was fair enough, but Bam couldn't relax and he was beginning to feel claustrophobic in the waiting room. In the end he excused himself from the others and made his way outside. He needed some air, or preferably a cigarette.

Bam was in such a day dream as walked towards the outdoor smoking area that he nearly walked straight into a paramedic coming the other way.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Bam apologised, coming to a halt just before he crashed into the dark haired woman.

"It's ok", she smiled politely, continuing to walk past. "Wait, Bam? Is that you?" The woman turned back and stared at him.

Bam had to blink several times before he realised the paramedic he had nearly walked into was in fact Melissa. He hadn't seen her since the night of the accident and he had to admit, he hadn't been paying much attention to what she looked like at the time.

"Melissa!" he smiled in surprise, taking off his shades. "It's good to see you."

"It is you", she laughed, walking back to him. "I almost didn't recognise you in those things. I suppose the cast should have been a giveaway."

Bam pocketed his sunglasses and glanced at his broken arm. "It's a giveaway all right."

"So how have you been?" She asked, running a hand through her short black hair. Her genuinely caring tone took Bam by surprise.

"Not bad considering", Bam shrugged slightly. "This thing is a pain in the ass though", he grimaced, referring to his cast.

"I'll bet", she laughed. "Hey, I don't suppose you fancy grabbing a coffee do you?" Melissa suggested. "I've just finished my shift and I'm in desperate need of a caffeine fix."

Bam considered this for a moment. What he really wanted was a cigarette, but he supposed that caffeine would probably do the trick just as well. After all, he didn't think that Melissa would approve of his smoking habit.

"Sure", he agreed, confused as to why he cared so much about what she thought of him.

Bam followed her back inside and took a seat in the hospital cafe while Melissa fetched two mugs of cappuccino.

"It's funny that I just bumped into you Bam", she told him as she sipped her coffee. "I was thinking about you earlier."

"You were?" Bam looked at her, puzzled. He hadn't noticed before how blue her eyes were.

"Yeah. You were in a pretty bad way the last time I saw you. I was worried about you and I was just wondering how you were getting on."

"I'm fine", Bam couldn't help but smile as he sipped his own coffee. It was frankly ridiculous that someone he'd met just the once could really care about him, but he appreciated the sentiment.

"And your wife?" Melissa asked tentatively.

"They're taking her out of her coma today", Bam explained, staring into his coffee mug. "That's why I was wandering around with my head in the clouds I guess."

Melissa nodded understandingly. "I hope it goes ok", she told him, putting her hand on his briefly.

"Thanks", he mumbled, feeling a little awkward.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to", Melissa told him kindly. "You can tell me to get lost if I'm bothering you."

"No it's ok." Bam didn't want her to leave. To be honest it was nice to have some company other than Knoxville and family. "I'm just not very good talking about feelings and shit", he laughed slightly, swirling the little wooden stick around in his coffee.

"Men!" Melissa teased. "So were abouts in LA are you staying?"

"Beverly Hills", Bam shrugged. He realised he was feeling self conscious around her. Since when did Bam Margera ever feel self conscious?

"Nice. Celebrity central. I guess I forgot about you being famous and everything", she laughed and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

Bam remembered her telling him she'd never seen any of his shows before. It was quite refreshing to be around someone who didn't see him as a celebrity.

"I suppose it has its moments", he laughed. "It's not my house though, so sorry to disappoint you. I'm staying with... a friend."

"A friend? Intriguing. Are they as famous as you?" she teased him again, flashing a cheeky grin.

He liked her innocent sense of humour. She was incredibly easy to talk to. "He wishes he was as famous as me", Bam pretended to scoff. "It's Johnny Knoxville."

"Of course", Melissa remembered Bam's concussed ramblings. "Isn't he your wife's..."

"Boyfriend", Bam laughed. He couldn't help himself. He was fully aware of the comedic value of the situation.

"So you're actually living with him?" Melissa leaned forwards curiously. "You weren't particularly complimentary about him when we were talking the other week."

"We patched things up I guess", Bam told her, the laughter wearing off. "The accident has put a shit load of things into perspective for me." He stopped talking quickly before he said anything embarrassing.

"That's good to hear", she smiled. "How's Brandon?"

"Missing his mom", Bam sighed gently, rubbing his temple.

"I'm not surprised", Melissa frowned. "It must be tough on him. Speaking of kids, I have to go and pick mine up from school", she laughed after glancing at her watch.

"You have kids? I don't remember you telling me", Bam looked at her, puzzled. He was sure he would have remembered something like that. She didn't look old enough to have kids.

"I didn't tell you", she laughed, finishing off her coffee. "You had enough on your mind."

"How many do you have?" he asked her, feeling rude for not knowing anything about this woman. He didn't even know her second name.

"Two", she smiled. "Kimberly's six and Jackson's five", Melissa pulled a photo out of her pocket and showed Bam.

"Cute kids", he nodded at the picture of two dark haired children staring goofily at the camera. They had their mother's eyes.

"Thanks. They get it all from me, not their asshole of a father", she assured him.

Bam wanted to ask more, but Melissa cut him off. "I've really got to dash, sorry Bam. Look, if you ever need to talk, or you just want to hang out while you're in LA, why don't you give me a call. You can get my home number from reception if you just ask for Melissa Matthews."

"Uh ok, thanks", Bam watched her get up from her seat and grab her backpack.

She pecked him on the cheek and before he could say another word she was hurrying towards the exit.

Just like Doctor Reese had warned, Amelia had not come round immediately. She was taken for a range of tests and scans while Johnny, Lisa and Steve waited anxiously for the results. It felt like a lifetime had passed before they heard anything. Johnny had nearly worn a ditch in the floor from his incessant pacing. When Doctor Reese entered the room, the three of them jumped up as if they'd been electrified.

"You'll be relieved to know that the tests showed no visible signs of any serious damage", Doctor Reese told them as Amelia's bed was wheeled back into the room. "What's more, the swelling to her brain hasn't returned, which is a very good sign."

"So it's good news?" Lisa asked, looking at the doctor with hope shining in her eyes.

"It's still very early to say," Doctor Reese said gently, gesturing for her to sit back down. "We don't know anything for sure until your daughter wakes up. However, I've had similar patients who have made full recoveries in the past, so I'm very hopeful."

Lisa and Steve looked at each other and held hands; the relief was evident on their faces. Johnny felt himself breathe a little sigh of relief too. It was the best news they could have hoped for really.

"As I've said before, it can sometimes take weeks for patients to wake up from induced comas", Doctor Reese reminded them. "The best thing you can do is to keep talking to her. There's a good chance she might be able to hear you. Familiar voices often help comatose patients to come round."

Johnny nodded his understanding. "Thanks doctor", he said, shaking Reese's hand.

"I'll be in to check on her regularly. If anything changes, just press the call button for a nurse." With that, Doctor Reese took his leave.

Lisa walked over to her daughter's bed. "Oh Amelia baby, it's going to be ok", she smiled, stroking Amelia's cheek. "We're all here for you sweetheart." Steve stood up and joined his wife, putting a comforting arm around her.

Johnny decided to give them some time alone with Amelia. "I've got some calls to make", he explained, before leaving the room. He knew that Jeff and everyone at the office were desperate to hear from him and he didn't want to make them wait any longer. Besides which, he needed a smoke.

Bam was sitting on a bench outside the hospital. He hadn't worked up the courage to go back to the ward yet, so he was somewhat relieved when he saw Johnny approaching him.

"Well?" Bam demanded as Johnny took a seat beside him.

Johnny repeated what Doctor Reese had said while crashing a cigarette from Bam.

"So it's good news?" Bam asked, just like Lisa had.

Johnny exhaled a large cloud of smoke from his lungs. "At the moment", he nodded.

"Well that's something", Bam leant back against the bench as relief washed over him. He closed his eyes and rubbed his head with his good arm.

"Yup", Johnny agreed as he started flicking through his phone for Jeff's number.

"Have you seen the vans?" Bam asked, gesturing across the hospital car park.

Since Johnny had arrived several hours ago, a couple more paparazzi vans had arrived.

"Great", Johnny sighed. "That's just what she needs." Why couldn't they catch a break?

"I don't know what story they think they've got", Bam shook his head. "But I think they've seen me and Dunn. At least they can't get in the hospital."

"I've not seen any news all week, so who knows what rumours are going round", Johnny frowned. "I guess we need to make some kind of statement to get them off our backs."

Bam nodded his agreement and starting lighting up another cigarette. "Whatever you tell them I'm sure they'll have a field day."

"You can say that again", Johnny rolled his eyes. "I'll ask Jeff to figure something out."


End file.
